Heart of Gazelle and Humanity
by The Imperator 2 you
Summary: With all hope lost Humanity places its final hope in the souls of those frozen in time. While excavating a tunnel, a team of Mammals going about their business discovers a relic of millennia past, and an ancient species thought mythical and legend. Yet of all eggs discovered only 1 survives. Can Humanity be redeemed for the sins of its past, in the future it cannot control?
1. Chapter 1

_The setting is the year is 2257 AD… in what remains of North America_

_Humanity is in its final twilight, the glory days of the species, the golden eras of centuries past… the times of democracies and republics, of empires and countries long gone._

_Humanity is but a shadow of its former self, all that made it shine on the blue marble called Earth lost in the darkest times, the species succumbing to the shadows of time and history._

_By the year 2167, Humanity had reached it's breaking point, numbering over 40 Billion the planet could no longer sustain it. Vast leaps in technology, medical, scientific, and cultural had given rise to low death rates and higher life spans. Where millennia before the population was kept in check by disease and age, now even the lowliest person could expect to survive to an age past 100._

_With the low death rate, and high birth rate, the species rapidly grew as technology and science advanced. In 1650 the population was less than half a Billion, by 1850 it broke a Billion, by 2050 it reached 10 Billion, and by 2150, it was over 35 Billion strong, too many for a single planet to sustain…_

_In its vain attempts Humanity struggled to exist in an ever-shrinking world, struggled to survive with ever dwindling resources, and out of fear, anger, distrust and desperation humanity turned on itself in a last vain struggle to continue. Allies became threats, opponent became threats, and humanity once united if only in name became truly divided as war took hold._

_In 2207 a war to truly end all wars by man erupted, the very weapons that centuries prior created a golden age of peace that prevented a world-wide war, were unleashed upon the very species that built them to prevent it. In the aftermath a decade later barely half of a percent of humanity survived, with the world now barren and ashen, incapable of sustaining the tiniest fraction of creatures upon its face. The resources humanity hoped to utilize to keep itself afloat, now lost to the ravages of hate and distrust, of greed and fear. Earth now lay dying in the weakened hands of Humanity, its fate tied to the planet, and the planet's fate tied to humanity._

_With no hope left, what remained of humanity took shelter in underground cities, sustaining itself for as long as it could, but no longer could humanity exist on the planet as they died out slowly. Its doom had been decided as the scars on the planet were created, and belief in surviving faded into nothingness._

_In a final, last, desperate act to survive, humanity deployed its technology to preserve a portion of its population in a hope that time would rectify the mistakes and sins of humanity's past, that time and time alone without man to intervene would heal the wounds it left upon its mother world. They prepared pods in the most advanced bases underground, which would preserve and contain thousands of Humanity's best, brightest, and its greatest hopes to save the species. Those chosen were those without inequal views, those without visions of greed, those without the sinful parts of Humanity's soul. They attempted to cleanse humanity's soul of its sinful parts, so that should they survive, past mistakes would never again be made._

_Those that were left behind dedicated what was left of their lives, to sustaining the pods for as long as they could, with only the hope that when those within awaken will be able to build a world brighter and better than anything in the past…_

(?'s PoV)

The old man looked over the program of the small glass sphere that was twice the size of what would have been a baseball. It had taken him the last twenty years of his life programming it, trying to ensure that it would be everything he wanted it to be. It was his last hope, his last dream… his final belief in the good of his species.

Everything else was dark around him, with exception to the screen he stared at, all remaining power diverted to the cryogenic pods that contained what was left of his people, of his species. At most only one thousand pods were prepared, and everyone else was left to die of slow old age, of lack of resources to sustain them.

He was alone now… he and he alone remained of those left to keep everything running. Only he and this one last gift he had to prepare.

"There…" He groaned as he closed the program and updated it.

Seconds later the base of the glass sphere lit up in a colorful display of lights, and what appeared before him made him smile.

"There, you're ready now…" He muttered.

The small figure within the sphere put its hands upon the edge of the glass, a look of wonder and joy on its face as it beheld the old man withering before it.

"You are all that is good in 'us'… all that makes 'us' good." He whispered as he tentatively picked up the sphere and held it close to him.

The figure inside smiled and nodded in agreement, knowing he spoke the truth, and feeling unrivaled joy at his words.

"I don't know when you will next wake up… or what kind of world you will awaken to… or even if 'people' will still be around but know that you… him… and anyone else you meet." He whispered as he slowly, wearily, walked through the darkened corridors and metal hallways to his destination. "You must have hope, have faith… and believe… that the world… will be 'better' than what it is now!"

It nodded in understanding, still smiling as he spoke to it.

"And you must let them know, whoever you meet… let them understand… that we are not evil… that there is good in everyone." He said as he entered a cold and dark room, slowly walking to a box he had prepared. "Help them build a beautiful and wonderful world…"

It nodded and watched as he slowly put the sphere into the box and took a small pod and hooked it up to the base's generators and a backup generator to ensure it would keep running. Inside that small pod, he took an air tight bag, which contained a single seed.

"Remember… all the magic of creation… exists… within a single… tiny seed!" He said shakily as he put the seed and sealed it in the pod.

The pod lit up a neon blue color, and a small hiss of cold air escaped its air tight chamber, indicating it had cryogenically frozen the seed.

"Remember… remember that…"

It nodded as he reached down and turned off the sphere's power supply, before connecting it to the small cryo-pod so that the two would stay tethered together.

With that he shakily got up, his week knees trembling from lack of nourishment, lack of care, and lack of energy as they tried to keep him standing and walking. His joints ached, his muscles hurt badly, but still he walked back to the command room, and switched on the power control console before sitting down.

He stared at the power controls, and saw that the only remaining systems still active, were the air recycling and purification systems, and what little power was being diverted to the command center.

All else was devoted to the Cryogenics Pods.

"We did it… my friends…" He whispered to nobody, being the last one alive and awake. "We have done… all we could… the rest… we leave… to you!"

He typed in the last commands, shutting off all remaining power, and setting the timer to ten seconds.

"Good luck… my son!" He whispered as the timer ticked down.

Seconds later, the screen shut off, and the air vents went inactive, without that he would last maybe another ten months before the air ran out. But he had no hope of surviving another ten months as he smiled and closed his eyes.

"The rest… we leave… to you!" He whispered as he began to fall asleep. "May you redeem us… for the crimes… we blindly committed."

He fell asleep and at some point, his soft breathing stopped, his heart ceased beating… and his form slumped in the chair he sat in.

Meanwhile in the Cryogenics Room where a thousand egg shaped pods, each containing a single sleeping, frozen human, awaiting thawing by their computer-controlled system, sat humming silently.

For a decade, a century, millennia… they sat… waiting….

Waiting…

**[Power Reserves at 29%, Analyzing Surface Details. . .]**

**[Error. . . unable to detect . . . attempting to extend power life span, checking available options based on data compiled. . .]**

**[Re-evaluating Power Distribution Options. . .]**

**[Discontinuing Power Connection to Pods 1 Alpha to 110 Alpha. . .]**

**[Re-evaluating Power Reserves Check . . . current power standing at 68% reserves. . . remaining active pods, 890]**

They waited…

**[Power Redistribution complete . . . remaining active Pods, 406. . .]**

And they waited…

**[Emergency Power Redistribution Measures, complete. . . remaining active Pods, 2. . .]**

And still they waited…

**[Emergency Power Redistribution Measure, complete. . . remaining active Pods, 1. . . remaining power reserves incapable of sustaining Cryogenic Stasis, power shut down within 500 standard years]**

And they waited… until… at long last…

Chapter 1) The Steel Chambers and the White Eggs

It was a wonderful morning in Zootopia as the citizens woke up to the morning sunshine to go about their day. It looked like it was going to be an ordinary day as Pandas, Giraffes, Antelopes, Lambs and every other manner of creature went about their business.

Stores opened as the sun was beginning to rise over Sahara Square, Little Rodentia, Rainforest District and even Tundra Town. Each location with its own controlled climate for those who live within such climates naturally, like snow wolves and polar bears of Tundra Town. Children went off to school, parents to their nine to five jobs, late night workers wearily trudging home to sleep, and morning rushers running with bits of food in their mouths as they dashed to their destinations.

Beneath Sahara Square, a new subway tunnel system was under construction at the behest of the new mayor of Zootopia, Leia Lioness. One of her campaign promises had been an improvement to the subway systems to improve travel time and travel services within Zootopia that didn't rely on the main Metra system currently in use. While the current subway system and internal city rail network was enough, it was notoriously under performing when it came to reduce the wait time of passengers to board and depart, which Leia Lioness hoped to rectify after her election.

Which is why deep below a new subway system of tunnels were under construction across all of Zootopia as additional 'temporary' construction jobs were created to make this promise possible. The foremen beneath Sahara Square were currently overlooking a construction map detailing the layout of the planned tunnel network and was getting a schedule going in their head to get the job done as quickly as possible.

"Alright everyone we're going to work in four shifts, morning, evening, night and twilight shifts." The Mole foreman said as he pointed out to his fellow moles and the other mammals, or as they liked to coin them 'new hires'. "Mayor wants this done within a year's time, we gotta get these tunnels dug and have rail lines laying down and concrete walls lining it before winter! George your going to take over evening shift, Robby on night, and Lula on twilight!"

"Always sticking me with the new hires on twilight shift huh Bob?" The beaver Lula said with a chuckle. "Why do I think this has something to do with that 'short' joke I made about you at the Gift-Giving Winter Party?"

"Hey at least you get to go home and sleep early, my team's gonna be chugging down 4-hour energy drinks when our shift arrives!" Robby hollered as they all separated, three fourths of them heading to the elevator up while the rest went to their gear and further into the tunnel.

"Alright let's get to work everyone, 'jackys' start tearing into the bedrock and miners' chip em up! New hires gather up the pieces and roll em outa the way! Let's get this going and show the other shifts what 'real' work looks like!" Bob the mole foreman yelled as the noise of construction work began to overtake the silent sounds, and everyone put on their earmuffs and headpieces.

As the jackhammers began tearing into the floors and shovels dug into the hardened dirt, everyone began to talk among themselves with their idle chatter to help pass the time.

"So, my second son is turning eight this weekend, and the wife and I are trying to decide on what to give him." A tiger said as he held the jackhammer in place. "The wife wants to get him 'clothes' of all things, so I say, 'clothes, you want to get our son clothes for his birthday'? What kind of parent gets their children 'clothes' for their birthday?"

"Oh please, you don't even wanna hear about my daughter, she just can't stop begging me to get the latest outfits that the paparazzi catch Gazelle in!" The antelope said as he wiped some dust out of his goggles' lens. "I can't count how many times she managed to get me to shop at the clothes department in Savannah Central."

Work continued on like that, with people having conversations about whatever they were talking about, silly stuff, stupid stuff, new hires complaining to themselves about how 'dirty' they feel, and others just ignoring everything around them and focusing on their jobs.

It was like this until a bobcat took his pickaxe to break apart a particularly hard piece of rocky wall and swung it hard to remove the annoying piece of debris, missing it by the tiniest of margins and striking the wall itself, when sharp metal hit deep and resulted in a huge 'clang' that could be heard over all the ruckus.

Everyone paused as they all heard the sound that shouldn't have been heard and turned from what they were doing to stare at the surprised bobcat, who was just settling down as his teeth finished rattling from the sudden heavy resistance. "Uh chief, I think we hit metal!" He hollered into his mic.

"That's not possible!" Bob the mole said grumpily as he sauntered over with map in paw. "We shouldn't have any kind of metallic compounds this deep and there should be nothing but rock in this direction!"

The bobcat nodded and took another tentative swing at the wall, before once again, metal pickaxe struck metal surface, resulting in a clang that made even the grumpy mole foreman pause and do a double and triple take at his map, skimming his eyes over every detail to make sure he missed nothing.

"Well there's something there chief that aint rock!" The bobcat said nervously as he took out his pickaxe.

Bob looked up at the predator and nodded, before pulling out his phone and calling the other foremen who were just about to leave the nearest terminal with their crews by now. "Hey Lula, get everyone back here, we found something, and we'll need everyone to dig it out!"

With that he nodded at their spare tools and signaled everyone to pick up and start digging.

Minutes later every mammal was shoveling and pickaxing away at the wall where the 'metal' was heard, and soon several clangs could be repeatedly heard in the tunnel. Soon the other workers who had just left returned and began to help in the excavation effort.

As they dug, they began to remove the earthwork from what they found was wall of what appeared to be purely of a metal that was so resistant to outside damage, that even being hit by multiple pickaxes, not a single dent or scratch was made on the shining surface.

"It just keeps going Bob!" Lula called out on her mic over fifty yards at the 'edge' of the excavation efforts.

"Same here, there's no end to it!" George yelled twenty yards on the other edge of the work detail.

The mole looked at their work so far, observing how long this 'wall of metal' was and baffled by how resilient it was to their efforts to either dig it out or even damage it without intent.

"These can't be ruins, its… too advanced for anything I've heard of!" He muttered as his teams continued digging.

Until…

"Hey, I found something, it looks like a door of some kind!" One of the workers yelled out.

Everyone paused and ran over to the mole who was shoveling some excess dirt out of his way, and sure enough he had found what appeared to be a 'door', or at least the 'top' of a door. He had only uncovered about half a foot of it, but there was a rectangular series of seems in the metal where two 'windows' resembling plexiglass but were no less resilient as the metal surrounding them. They could barely see into whatever was beyond the door with how much dust and dirt was covering them, but it looked like they had found a superstructure of some kind.

"Start digging it out!" Bob ordered, and within moments shovels started pushing downward as others worked on digging out a ramp.

It took them over an hour to fully dig out the door enough for them to use it, and another half hour before the ramp was finished, but at last they had unearthed the door to this 'thing' they had found.

The door itself was roughly eight feet tall, barely five to six feet wide, and sealed shut to them.

"Doesn't look like anyone's home…" Someone commented.

"This looks like a scene from that one Star Lines show my kid and his friends geeks out about." Another whispered. "Could it be an alien ship?"

"Can't be… buried this deep beneath Zootopia? Someone would have said something about it or found it before today!"

"Well only one way to find out… everyone stand back…" George said as he took a shovel and wedged it into the seam of the door.

With a massive grunt, and three others helping him push, he slowly forced the two sides of the door to separate and slide into their slots on either side. Instantly everyone coughed as a huge wave of dead air raced out.

"Oh, sweet mother that stinks!" Bob yelled as he waved away the air. "Torchlights everyone!"

Everyone began to switch on their hardhats as one by one they entered the door and into what could only be described as another world.

If the outside was alien to the mammals, then the interior was truly another world. Metal was everywhere as they walked through the corridor, the only sources of light being their hard helmets as mammals looked this way and that. They found more doors, corridors locked off, empty rooms as they moved past. Along some of the walls were slabs of metal nailed down with words on them like "Storage Room A-7" and "Crew Quarters B-9 - G-6". They continued to look around until they entered a room that had "Command Center" above it.

"Whoa… look at this place." Lula whispered in awe. "This is way, way more advanced than… anything that geek tv show could manage."

"Hey, look at that…" Someone said, and everyone looked to see something sitting in a chair at one of the 'screens'.

Tentatively a leopard stepped forward and, nudged the chair to turn it around, revealing to their shock a dried and disheveled skeleton wearing the remains of some kind of 'cloth' on it. The colors were so faded that they had turned white and only hung together by the tiniest of strings still clinging together for all they were worth. What astonished them was that it wasn't any skeleton they were familiar with, even from their school days they did not recognize it.

"Oh man… whoever that was… they must have been… trapped hear for… who knows how long for them to… look like that when they died."

"Look at that face, no snout muzzles, no hoof bones, large jaw bones… not even clawed fingers or toes."

There was silence as everyone just looked at the skeleton or looked at other screens that they began to recognize as computers, though far, far more advanced than even the latest Mapple Personal Laptop could pride itself on. Even the highest tech computer on the marked would pale in comparison to just 'one' of these things, which looked like they had no keyboards…

Until one of them found a button that faintly resembled a 'power' button that they were used to.

"Whoa!" He shouted as the screen turned on and lit up like the sun in the dark building.

**[Systems… online!]** A distinctly feminine voice declared.

"What'd you do?"

"I-I didn't huabata!" He stuttered as he tried to explain.

**[Power levels at… 0.006 percent… diveeeeeeeerting… bzzzzt]** the voice said as the screen dimmed and began to die. **[Cryogeeeeenic… chamber… Pods… remaining… 1…]**

With that it turned off as everyone, so scared at just the sight of the computer turning on and the voice mysteriously talking that they had all huddled at the far end of the room.

Silence was all they heard as they breathed so quietly, but then one of them noticed a distinct blue glow coming from one of the rooms in the empty corridors, and above.

As if being called, an antelope stepped forward and led the way to the corridor, above it the words 'Cryogenic Stasis Chambers' labeled what the room was.

They entered the massive chamber and beheld a sight that dwarfed everything they saw before. Inside the chamber were, 'eggs', the only word they could describe the weird oval shaped pods that were hooked up to each other and into the ceiling. They were each around eight feet in length, maybe six feet in width and six feet in height. Each one colored white and each one had a strange panel identical to the next with the same 'red' light bulb and red line that gave a low humming beep.

"Those look like heart rate monitors… the kinds you see in hospitals." A sheep said as she leaned closer to one.

Tentatively she examined the egg and found two hinges that allowed her to gently open the pod, but what she saw caused her to gasp and scramble backward out of fear and then sadness.

Inside the egg, was another skeleton, far better preserved than the one in the room that they were in before, but no less… whoever or whatever it was… was long dead.

When she realized the little flat-lining beep was what it sounded like, a flat lined heart rate, she looked at all the other eggs in the room and mourned silently for them. "Oh, ancient ones… please let these souls rest in peace…"

"Nothing against you sheep and your 'beliefs', but now's not the time for that." Bob the mole muttered as he and everyone spread out to see how many eggs were in the room.

"I count thirty… but this place is so big, how could thirty… whatever they are possibly fill this whole place!" A tiger yelled.

"There's more than thirty, there's more here in this room!" The antelope hollered from another room, causing them to look with their lights and see yet another room filled with eggs.

"Yea, there's another room here!" Lula called out.

Soon comprehension dawned on many of them as they fanned out, finding more rooms, found more eggs, found more flat-lined panels.

"There must be hundreds of them… no way more than hundreds!" The bobcat said sadly. "But what killed them?"

"Whoever they are… we should leave them be… this is…" The antelope whispered before she paused and found one egg glowing blue slightly, with faint wisps of cold air leaving its otherwise air-tight insides and humming constantly.

On it was a panel just like all of the others, but unlike everyone so far, this one had a 'green' light bulb, and the heart rate monitor, had a green line spiking every few minutes.

She walked toward it, again as if being called, and stared at the egg. She put a tentative paw on it, feeling the deep cold beneath it, but also feeling a hum coursing through her. She could feel it, feel the hum of 'life' within it, whatever it was these eggs were doing they were preserving something 'alive' within them.

Something told her, that they 'had' to save this egg, that it was begging to be saved… as if 'they' were its last hope. All the others had died, but this one clung on, desperately trying to save whatever it contained.

She looked at the nearby screen and saw the most obvious sign of a 'battery power' that she had ever seen, no different than her ZPhone's battery symbol. It was flashing red every millisecond and blinking the number 0.003%, and below that 'Estimated Time Remaining: 4 Hours'.

"Oh no… WE NEED SOME KIND OF POWER FOR THIS THING!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"What's up!?" Someone replied as everyone ran over to the Antelope.

"This one's still alive, this one is still working, but its about to run out of power!" She yelled as she pointed out the screen's battery life.

"Four hours, but we don't even know what it 'runs' on!" Bob said.

"Well we can't just leave it to die!" She countered.

"Hey what's this?" A porcupine said, as with his small stature, he pointed out a small wire hanging from the egg and above it the words 'Alternative Energy Input'. The wire itself was tipped with a small 'knob' that looked eerily like a headphone jack for her phone, and out of curiosity she pulled out her phone and looked at where it would connect.

It would 'barely' fit, but she decided to try it, and plugged her phone to the egg's 'Alternative Energy Input' wire, and instantly saw her phone's power supply drain within seconds from 92% to 0.

"Whoa… you are hungry for power aren't you…" She muttered to the egg as she marveled at how fast it drained her phone. "That was six days-worth of power you just drained."

"And it barely made a dent!" The sheep said as they stared at the battery, stating that they had only added an 'hours' worth of life to the egg from her phone.

Six days of the most top of line phone's battery life span, was barely an hour's worth of charge for this egg and whatever it ran on.

"Even all our phones combined would barely give it an extra day!"

"Then let's give it that extra day!" Bob said as he shoved his phone forward and pushed the wire into it, draining his phone of life so that the egg gained another hour. "Lula, you keep your phone, get outside and call up the mayor, we need specialists and scientists and… whatever down here, this is way above us! They can figure out how to save this egg, but the least we can do is help it last long enough to get that help!"

Lula nodded and quickly left the 'unknown building' or 'ship' or whatever it was, while everyone else pulled out their phones and plugged them into the egg one at a time, draining their phones of battery life and adding to the egg's battery life.

Thirty-seven dead phones later, and they had given the egg over a day's worth of power to sustain itself.

"So, what do we do now chief, we can't stay here all the time once the big wigs show up." A wolf asked as they stood around the egg, wondering what was inside of it.

"All we can do, just watch it and wait till someone tells us to leave." The mole said as the antelope stayed close by the egg. Said antelope just stared in awe at the egg, feeling like a protective mother watching over a child, looking over the egg with her hardhat light for anything she might have missed that the others looking at the 'dead' eggs didn't notice.

She did indeed find something, a tiny viewport in the egg that was cloudy and foggy, obscuring her view of whatever was inside the egg. Curious, she used her shirt and wiped off the viewport, and gasped in wonder.

"No…" She whispered in utter astonishment.

Being the only one who could look inside of it gave her the first look at something she 'never' thought until that second, ever existed in anything but myth and legend, in scary stories her mother told her to frighten her at night. But somewhere deep inside her she just instantly knew what it was she was looking at.

"Human…" She whispered.

While the others didn't hear her, she thought back to all she knew of 'Humans', of the 'monsters of the past' as her mother called them.

The stories she told, the legends of humans, everything she told her as a young doe called them 'beings of destruction'. The tales told of humans laying waste to all before them, destroying with no regard and no mercy for any mammal. There were tales that misbehaving does and colts were taken by human spirits away to be eaten and devoured in giant pots of boiling lava.

Yet not one single story she ever heard from her mother, spoke of humans and how they 'looked'… or how utterly defenseless they appeared.

The human inside the egg, if it was a human, was mostly pale, had absolutely no fur with exception to the small amount of fur on its head at the very top. Its face looked rather young for a human, not quite a 'young colt' but also obviously not an old antelope either.

"You don't look dangerous to me…" She muttered to herself, placing her hoofed paw on the egg and watching over it while the others went off to explore on their own.

She stayed there, watching over the egg, waiting until told to do otherwise.

For nearly four hours they waited, until they heard Lula calling for them, and as a group they began to leave but she was last, wanting to stay with the egg for as long as she could. As she walked out and scientists and engineers and who knows what else walked in after them, she looked back at their discovery and asked herself, just what was it they found.

Since the site she was supposed to work at was now essentially shut down, and she was essentially out of a job now because none of the other teams were looking for 'new hires', she returned to her apartment and dug in her old things for the 'human tales' book her mother once read to her as a doe.

She blew the dust off and skimmed through the pages, looking for 'anything' about humans themselves. She found only 1 image, one solitary picture that showed what a 'human spirit' looked like.

"They don't look anything alike." She said to herself as the image didn't even resemble the creature she saw in the egg. "They don't have teeth as large as their faces, they aren't covered in scales…"

True she only saw the face but still, there was nothing else that resembled what she was looking at in the picture that she saw with her own eyes.

Turning on the news she looked for any headlines or stories about their 'discovery' that day, and sure enough on the mid-day headlines…

**[Breaking News]**

"_Breaking news today as reporters indicate that a mysterious 'object' was recently discovered underneath the subterranean tunnels of Zootopia, more specifically Sahara Square. As of this moment officials are not stating what it is they have discovered, but we have received word from the foreman in charge of a team of construction workers who were beginning construction work on the Mayor's promised 'Subway Solution', a large expansive project creating a new network of railway tunnels for inter-city traveling."_

"_Indeed, this comes in just as an energy crisis is starting to emerge as portions of Tundra Town and Rainforest District are now going into their second week without power. This recent discovery has put onto hold all other tunnel construction and excavation projects as crews divert to the new 'mystery object' that the Mayor is…. Hang on I am getting word that the mayor is about to give a statement… we go live to our field reporter now…"_

She watched as Mayor Leia Lioness appeared on screen surrounded by reporters and camera crews outside of the entrance to the tunnel she had been in earlier.

"_I can confirm, that earlier today at roughly eight fifty-two AM, that construction crews have discovered what can only be described… as a metallic, subterranean structure. I repeat, this is 'not' a space ship despite rumors circulating this is 'not' a space ship. The origins of which are unknown, but we can confirm, pre-date modern mamillian history, and even beyond. We do not know how old the structure is, nor do we believe it is even mamillian in nature as… its technology is far more advanced than anything we possess."_

"_Ms. Mayor, have you been inside the structure!?" Someone yelled._

"_I myself have only been… to the front door, the structure itself is so massive that until we know its actual diameters, all future underground construction prospects are being put on hold effective immediately while scientists and engineers attempt to 'study' the structure."_

"_Ms. Mayor, what about the rumors about an 'object' being extracted from the tunnels and being taken, rumors are saying an 'egg like object' was removed?"_

At that she became attenuative as the Mayor appeared visually hesitant to answer.

"_I can neither confirm nor deny these rumors, now if you will excuse me, I have a meeting to attend…"_

With that everyone began cramming and flashing pictures trying to get her to speak more, and the news anchors returned.

"_Well there you have it, the object is now confirmed, a superstructure of unknown origins. Reports gathered by field reporters state that this 'super structure', based on testimonies from the mammals working the tunnel this morning confirm it is made of a super resilient metal, one that defied all outward damage. They claimed that even after hammering and hacking away at the metal while attempting to excavate it, not so much as a scratch was made upon the metals surface. They claimed the inside was almost like 'visiting another world', and another stated 'it puts to shame that geek show my son watches about star ships and space." _

"_This raises many questions, who built it, why was it built, and what is it doing beneath Zootopia? We'll have more on this as the story unfolds and we learn more details, this is ZNN…"_

She turned off the news and realized what had happened, they had taken the egg.

She didn't know 'why' she was so invested in that egg, or if the 'human', if it was indeed a human, was alive or not. But a tiny part of her knew, or at least felt at ease, because she knew that it had been saved. She had saved the occupant of the egg, directly or indirectly.

"Four hours, four hours separated that egg, from losing power and… whatever was inside being lost." She whispered as she looked at her human tale book, trying to find anything 'good' about humans.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"A little more love in the world, a little more joy in the… cold? No that's not right…" She muttered to herself as her limo drove through downtown Sahara Central. "A little more joy in the… a little more joy if only you would~!"

She wrote it down liking that sentence much better.

"I could use a little more love in my world." She muttered to herself as they took a turn.

Then as she was about to write down the next line for her song, the limo came to a sudden stop, causing her to look up at her driver in confusion. "What's wrong Donny?"

"Police holding up traffic Ms. Gazelle." Her tiger driver/bodyguard/backup dancer said.

Sure enough, she watched as four police cars drove past at a very steady, if somewhat quickened pace. Following behind was an Ambulance, and behind that were yet 'more' police cars. Then after the second group of Police cars came a heavily armored van, which had no less than twelve squad cars behind 'it'.

As the van drove past, she felt 'something', touch her, she couldn't describe it as anything else. Her heart just seemed to… feel pained at seeing the van drive past, not for the van itself but for whatever was inside the van.

As it drove by it turned down the street alongside hers with the rest of the vehicles, and unable to resist the urge, she felt herself open the door to her limo and was compelled to watch the van drive by. It was as if… something was 'calling' her, something… or someone was calling her is what her heart told her.

"Ms. Gazelle?" Donny asked suddenly noticing she had stepped out of the limo.

She ignored him until the van was out of sight, then it felt like her heart was… sad. She felt a sudden sadness in her heart, wondering what it was about the van in particular that caused her to step out and do all she could to watch it go. It was as if her heart felt something, an ache beyond anything she ever felt before.

This felt personal, this ache felt… lonely, as if she felt another heart reaching out for hers and hers in turn reaching out for it.

"Sorry Donny, just… just ignore it." She said as she got back in and traffic resumed.

Not able to get rid of the feeling in her heart, she picked up her pen and began scribbling down a new set of lyrics, completely forgetting about the song she was writing before.

"My heart aches for you, like nothing you never knew…" She wrote down, a new song just appearing in her head as clear as day.

.

.

[Message from the Author]

Howdy everyone, imperator 2 you here, and I have a new fic (yes I know, another one, even when I'm supposed to be writing like 3 others at the same time) This time I've got it set in the Zootopia setting, and I'm basing it in a 'what if' setting.

As you read it's a romance story, but it will have adventure etc, and its going to star our favorite Gazelle and said human.

Like Gazelle in my story, who just wrote a random song after feeling compelled to do so upon feeling the ache in her heart at seeing something that she could see go by, I read a story recently that dealt with humanity, going extinct, asking what 'we' would leave those who come after behind, what they will think of us, and a romance between the last human and someone who belonged to a species that came after us.

Once I had the story in my head it was like all the others I was wanting to write took a backseat and I had to write this down, so here it is, I hope you forgive me adding another story onto my list of problems I want to do before I can't write anymore

I love writing and I love writing for the sake of writing stories and worlds for my readers to enjoy. Don't worry about my 'financial' situation, and don't worry, I feel inspired to write once again so expect more chapters in the coming weeks for not only 'Heart of Gazelle and Humanity', but also Pack of Destiny and Life, Arceus Book, and Second XCOM Viper!

Till next time~!

P.S. if anyone feels like drawing a little cover art for the story, dm me and I'll send you some details cause I suck atm and can't draw it for my life! XD


	2. Chapter 2

'_You're not alone, together we stand… I'll be by your side you know I'll take your hand!'_

'_When it gets cold, and it feels like the end, there's no place to go you know I won't give in!'_

'_No, I won't give in… Keep holding on, cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through!'_

'_Just, stay strong, cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you…'_

Chapter 2) The Survivor and the Savior

Deep beneath Zootopia, watched over and guarded by police and city official security guards, a team of engineers and scientists worked late into the night, attempting to uncover the mystery of the 'alien facility' that had been discovered only the day before.

They had tried everything to gain access to various rooms but each one barred entry that wasn't already open. Any attempts to force the doors open resulted in foul air seeping through the tiniest cracks, causing them to cease their attempts and the doors to automatically shut tight, trapping the air again.

The air was so foul and so 'toxic' to them, that it permeated even the biohazard suits 'air filters', and not even full oxygen tank users could force the doors open, as after losing the fight against the constant force, the doors shut tight and refused entry each time. Those who breathed the air became almost deathly sick until they left the building and returned to the surface, where the fresh clean air cured them.

To the Mayor, in all the reports she's been reading ever since, not going to sleep or even having time to shower or bathe properly, the strange facility was guarding its secrets with a fury not even the most savage 'predator' could match.

Now they were attempting to restore power to the computers, but so far, every attempt to either locate a power source, or even supplement the facility with power generators had failed. Each time they attempted to hook up a generator, no matter what type or how it was hooked up, the facility drained it of power within seconds dry.

The only thing they had been able to find out from their numerous attempts, was that the facility was obviously still 'functioning', still operating under its own agenda and was using the power they attempted to feed it for whatever purposes it needed.

Regarding the eggs, the chambers that held the white oval shaped 'pods', or 'Eggs' as they were dubbed by the construction crews and now given the official term by the scientists and engineers, had continued to be located by the personnel sent into the facility. In total, one thousand of these Eggs had been discovered, counting the one solitary egg that had been disconnected from the superstructure, and relocated within Mercy Hospital in Zootopia, the most advanced medical facility in the entire city.

While it was 'advised' that anything taken out of the facility be moved to a government facility where it can be safely studied, the fact that an HRM was discovered, and indicated a still beating heart, coupled with the fact that it seemed every other Egg appeared to have been shut off at different intervals in relation to each other, based on the information she read in her reports the Mayor decided that whoever or whatever was inside the egg was vitally important to the facility. All evidence, based on the aging of each body they found, with the oldest being the one solitary figure in what could only be described as a Command Center, each of the Eggs had shut down at different times, condemning whoever were inside them to a gruesome death.

Whoever or 'whatever' oversaw the Eggs had chosen a grim course of action in order to save the 'life' of whatever was inside, by slowly sacrificing all the other Eggs to prolong the ones that remained, eventually leaving only one solitary Egg to watch over. Even then, had it not been for fate, chance, or whatever it was, were it not for the construction crew, and through them her actions of ordering a new subway system, the last occupant within the one thousand eggs in the facility would have suffered the same fate as the other nine hundred and ninety-nine occupants.

It was desperate to save even one.

The only question remained, as the Mayor tiredly finished her twentieth pot of coffee, the effects becoming less and less with each hour she stayed awake…

"What did we save?" She asked as she looked over the pictures.

Meanwhile at Mercy Hospital, the entire facility was closed, and all patients inside transferred quickly to other facilities. At the same time, they shuttled the egg they had extracted from the underground facility and placed it a ward that would allow them to monitor and examine it.

Now doctors and nurses were attempting to examine what it 'was' that was inside the egg, as the power sustaining it had expired, and the Egg released its clamps, allowing them to 'at last' look upon the being inside of the pod.

The entity was around five feet nine in height, with a whitish-tanned skin and lacking any distinctive mammalian traits they were familiar with in the medical fields.

"It has no body fur; how can it possibly stay warm?" A Giraffe asked his colleagues.

"Look at the face, the structure is remarkably similar to those of ancient apes, but that species died out almost a hundred thousand of years ago."

"Distinctly male if the genatalia is anything to go by and based on preliminary x-ray scans it has a bone structure very similar to most mammals but at the same time drastically' different!" Another said as they lifted the medical gown and pointing beneath it.

"Body temperature is very low, despite no longer being within the confines of the pod, but it is slowly rising." A Tigress whispered as she checked her notes and checked the HRM. "I would surmise that the 'pod' kept him in a very cold environment, not because it is a natural environment but for other reasons entirely…"

"But why would one deliberately freeze themselves to such a drastically low temperature?" A Polar Bear scientist asked as he went over his notes. "The temperature within the pod when we checked was just below five hundred degrees below zero! At those temperatures, even a Polar Bear would struggle to survive… and he doesn't even have such excess body fat or fur to help him survive those temperatures."

Then a badger nurse asked a question that caused a massive debate among all the mammals.

"What if the 'pod', was designed to keep him frozen, and he willingly went inside of it? That would explain his condition." She said. "We know that the structure he was found in is older than anything in recorded mammalian history, older than even the oldest fossils archeology has uncovered. What if he and the others like him… hid in these pods to… 'wait' until they were to wake up at a certain time?"

And with that they began arguing and debating, some saying how that makes no sense because only 'he' survived, and others building off it and asking new questions like why only 'he' survived?

What none of them noticed was that the HRM was beginning to spike more quickly, as all the talk and now arguing was beginning to stir the human from his time-unknown slumber.

(Jeremy's PoV)

'_Wh… wha… what is… going on?'_

He thought as his mind slowly began to work again, everything was moving slowly to him, his body attempting to reassert feeling as blood tried to flow to where it was needed. His heart was beating at a slow but steady pace, trying to reaffirm what pace it was supposed to be working at and wake up the rest of his body. His feet were still terribly numb, and his fingers could not feel anything as the veins were still partially 'frozen', nor could his legs feel properly as they too were partially frozen inside.

His bones felt so brittle that he was surprised he could 'feel' his bones, but to him they felt like they could crack and break at even the slightest provocation. The two things that 'were' working properly, at least based on what he could tell, were his ears and his eyes. Every other part of him was still trying to figure out what was going on, but his ears could hear talking and his eyes could see a distinctive light past his eyelids.

'_Voices… I can hear… voices…'_

"There's no way any creature could last that long, even hibernating! A Polar Bear could probably last half a year at 'best'!"

"But Polar Bears don't sit within high tech pods clearly designed to 'freeze' the occupant to well below sub-zero temperatures!"

'_Voices… they sound… like people… then that means… it worked?'_ He thought, and as if that were the signal, his body's organs started pushing into overdrive to speed up the wake-up process. _'It worked… we made it!'_

His heart sped up to force blood into frozen veins, his lungs pulled in warm air despite how much they hurt because of it, and his limbs shook in an attempt to shake up and force themselves to move again.

'_Just… gatta wake up… come on… tell the others… wake up everyone else… and-AGHHHH!'_

He tried to open his eyes to look at his fellow 'Cryologists', who were probably waking the others up alongside him, but his eyes still unused to seeing light after who knows how long they were asleep, recoiled in pain as his first light nearly blinded him and forcing them to close again.

'_Ow… that wasn't supposed to happen!'_ He thought fearfully. _'I should be in my pod still, my body… what's wrong… something's not right…'_

This wasn't what was covered in their meetings, they should each have remained in their pods for at least thirty-seven hours before being pulled out, both to allow their bodies time to safely thaw out naturally and to allow them a chance to get used to being active after such a long period of time. Yet as feeling returned to his body, he felt that he wasn't in his soft and comfortable pod, he was lying on what felt like a very flimsy mattress, almost like it belonged in Medical Bay.

Everything wasn't making sense, his feet were still stiff and cold, his arms and legs were shivering, and his organs felt like they had pieces of ice stuck in them that stung painfully every second. Even his eyelids felt 'cold' to his eyes, despite the obvious warmth he was in.

'_This isn't right… something is wrong… what is happening?'_

Now he knew something was wrong, if the others had pulled him out early for any reason, they would be watching him closely and talking to him, trying to ease his worries and let him know what is wrong. But that wasn't going on, they were still talking among themselves, and now that his ears seemed to be working at full strength, his brain trying to absorb information wherever it could get it, was now intently listening to every word being exchanged.

"If he was supposed to wake up at a certain time, then why did he not wake up on time?" Someone asked, but the tone, the accent, it was off compared to what he knew. "Obviously he didn't wake up when he was supposed to, if so then we can only assume that he is supposed to remain in that… 'stasis' or whatever you wish to call it!"

'_Those… those aren't voices I know… I must wake up… I have to see what is going on!"_ He thought as he braced his eyes again and forced his eyelids to snap open.

Instantly his eyes screamed in pain at the sudden light pouring into them, but he forced them to see and rapidly adjust, but because of how cold his body still felt, how much everything was struggling to get back into sync with each other, his eyes struggled painfully to reassert visual information for his brain.

Soon though his eyes for the sake of gathering information for his brain, began to visualize and form shapes, colored blotches, and everything else around him into something that made sense.

It was as he guessed, some kind of medical center, as the light above him revealed various medical tools and equipment surrounding his bed, from HRM to tables with medical syringes and liquid doses. But the walls were not metallic, there was too much room for even a single medical lab to warrant the bed he sat on, which was almost three times his size.

Now fear began to creep into his mind and body as his eyes scanned the room for 'anything' human, but despite how it looked human, how familiar everything was to him it was just slightly out of the ordinary to cause his mind to signal 'Red Alert' to the rest of him.

That was when the voices became apparent again, and his eyes found the source, and he went from being at 'Red Alert' to DEFCON '0'.

Animals, he was looking at what he could only describe as a group of 'animals' from his time, but far more evolved versions of the ones he knew about from old books and texts. These creatures were standing upright, they wore clothing no less similar to what humans once wore, lab coats, medical tools, talking among themselves… talking about 'him'.

They were so busy with their own discussion, talking about how he got there, why he was in a pod, what was its purpose and who knew what else that they didn't realize that his HRM was starting to skyrocket. His heart was pumping as fast as it could, painfully trying to shove blood around to get his 'fight or flight' mechanic going.

All logical thought left his mind as it only had one thought, 'escape', get out, get away, find help, run… run… run…

RUN!

But a small part of him was still rational enough to reign in his fear, but only barely, and only for as long as 'it' could maintain a semblance of control. They weren't aware of him waking up just yet, so he had only one chance to slip away and get past, perhaps find help or figure out where he was or even 'when' he was and find the others and figure something out.

As quietly as he could he began to slip out, not taking his eyes off of the animals who were still animatedly talking among themselves. He was just about to get off the bed when the HRM that had a small rubber piece taped over his chest, tugged at the machine and caused it to lean over and knock over a glass vial and several syringes.

This caused the tiniest of crashes and breaking glass, but to him it might as well have been a Magneton Fusion-Nuclear Bomb, as the noise alerted the animals.

They all turned toward him and stared in shock and awe at him, clearly not expecting him to be awake, let alone attempting to get up.

But the silent shock of them realizing he was awake and up, and him realizing that he had been caught turned to utter chaos as the part of him that was still rational relinquished control and he obeyed the simplistic instinct of his species, the fight or flight mechanic. In a millisecond he realized that one he was outnumbered eight to one, and two at least '3' of the animals were predatory in nature, a jaguar, a polar bear, and a tiger. With that information, his body chose between the two options, and chose 'flight'.

He jumped off the bed and scrambled toward the door, ripping off tapes and feeling needles rip out painfully from portions of his body. His body had apparently chosen the worst time to 'feel' again, as he screamed in pain and almost fell, before fear compelled and forced him back to his feet to run even as the medical animals got over their shock and chased after him.

Some of them screaming at him to stop, others telling him not to hurt himself, and some yelling to call the police and the mayor.

Without clothes on he slipped and ran blindly through the hospital, his feet struggling to stay level and keep him up because they weren't used to his weight after being asleep for so long, not to mention they were still partially frozen. His legs too began to wobble and scream in agony as he tried to run faster, but still he pushed them on because he had to get away from them!

That was when he saw the 'Exit' sign at the end of one corridor and prayed that it meant what he believed it meant.

He pushed against the door and it swung open, but at the same time an alarm sounded, which no doubt signaled his location to everyone within hearing range, yet that was the 'least' of his concerns. It was freezing outside as pouring rain and thunder sounded above him, and with only a thin gown that only covered him up below his ankles, and both blood and muscle still partially frozen, his body instantly began to freeze as the sudden temperature drop was agonizingly painful to him.

His body had only 'barely' begun to sync and get used to the nice warm atmosphere of the building he was in, and now he had forced his body into a sudden temperature dropping situation.

"Stop whoever you are! Please!" Someone yelled behind him, just as the tiger scrambled around the hallway and spotted him.

He began to run, his feet starting to feel 'agony' as he ran across black concrete, wet and freezing from the rain. He felt tiny pieces of glass and asphalt cut into his skin, but the only thing that stayed his blood from pouring out of the wounds was that it and the veins weren't fully thawed, yet this also meant that nothing was protecting his body from infections.

He tried to run faster and managed to get around the corner of the building to head toward what looked like a street, and soon found himself dodging vehicles. Horns blazed at him, passersby yelling and screaming at him to get outa the way, he turned this way and that, lights and sounds overwhelming his senses as his body began to shut down from the cold, yet his brain and heart were trying to keep him going as he fumbled and tried to run, miraculously avoiding being killed by the vehicles as they swerved around to avoid him.

Just as he saw a long white vehicle swerve to a sudden stop barely a few feet in front of him, he heard the sounds of sirens and saw flashing lights behind him. He turned around and began hyperventilating as his heart could no longer pump fast enough to keep up with his actions. He saw multiple vehicles swerve to a stop, and many animals all in 'uniforms' and some carrying sidearms jump out to aim at him, yelling and shouting at him, but he could barely hear them or make out anything they were saying.

"This is Officer Rhydon, lay down on the ground NOW and put your arms behind your head!"

It became too much, the yelling, the cold, the lights, the fear, everything was too much for him now as his body slowly shut down. He shivered heavily as he fell backward, trying to defend himself from 'anything' by shielding his eyes at least from the light. His legs were twitching, and his feet now began to bleed as his heart had managed to pump enough to them for the action to take place.

"GET ON THE GROUND AND ARMS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!"

He knew it was over, his arm barely could stay up as he tried to shield his eyes, which still had not fully recovered or adjusted to his surroundings. All he could do was sit there and wait for them to either finish him off, or let his own body shut down on its own…

"Get away from him!" A voice yelled out.

He was still hyperventilating, but now that his brain was focused on listening and not seeing, and his body wasn't moving anymore, he heard those four words that caused him to lower his guard enough to look up with the tiniest ray of hope. Standing in front of him were several uniformed Rhinos, an elephant, a bear and goats all with firearms pointing in his direction.

Yet standing in front of 'him' and acting as a shield was a slim figure wearing a fancy dress and standing on two hooves, with spiraling antlers and defiantly looking back at them with its arms spread wide.

"Ma'am get away from that creature, we don't know what kind of threat it is!" A Rhino yelled.

"You get away from that mammal, don't you see a scared and frightened creature crying out for help when you see it?" She shot back, still not budging an inch. "Your officers of the law, your supposed to 'protect and serve'! Well why aren't you protecting this mammal, look at it, it's practically terrified of you!"

Things were getting fuzzy, but he did his best to focus, trying to see what was going on. He figured that these were 'law enforcement' and that they had perceived him as a threat and were trying to simply stop him to protect others. This one however, was a citizen, and 'she' seemed to be his only hope for protection at this point.

He could barely see clearly, but if he was right her species looked very similar to 'Antelopes' from his time. And even though he only saw the back of her, she looked absolutely beautiful to him, but a part of him probably only thought that, because so far, she was the only one that was 'actively' trying to protect him, going so far as to use herself as a living shield.

"Ma'am please, step aside and let us handle this." The rhino said trying to get a clearer shot around her. "That creature is not like any mammal we've ever seen, we don't know what it is, and we can't be sure what its capable of or if it's a threat. For your safety please step aside and let us do our job!"

"And if you want to do your job than you will stay 'away' from this poor thing and call for medical help!" She shouted back, not budging at all and shifting her weight enough to keep herself between him and the rhino's firearm. "Franky, help me out here!"

Within seconds later the car behind him shifted slightly as a door opened, and a large, burly tiger in a suit and holding an umbrella stepped around to stand in front of the Antelope. He handed her the umbrella and proceeded to crack his knuckles and cross his arms at the officers.

The Antelope, now freed from being forced to stand guard over him, turned around to look over him, and as he stared into her brown eyes, at her pale gold fur, and the sweet kind and gentle expression she wore as she looked at him…

He felt at ease and felt safe, but also felt his heart… beating easier at the sight of her, as if the sight of her and being this close to such a gentle creature gave him a sense of hope and peace that he hadn't felt in such a long time.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"It had to rain today… of all the days it had to rain 'today' huh Franky?" She asked her driver, Franky.

"Sorry ma'am, guess the weather people didn't do their jobs today." He said, trying to lighten the mood as they drove through traffic at a slow pace.

She sighed in annoyance, she wanted to pick up her new dress that she had custom made for a music video recording session tomorrow. Now it would have to be delayed, she refused to not be properly dressed for the song she'd spent weeks rehearsing for if the dress she ordered wasn't ready for it.

She was sure her agent was going to chew her out, saying 'oh just use another dress that also fits it!', but she wasn't going to do it in anything else. That dress had been designed 'for' the song as much as the song had been written for the dress!

"My agent needs to learn to see things from my eyes." She complained to Franky.

"He is only your agent Miss Gazelle, he just wants to make sure you are on time for your rehearsals!" He said with a smile as they turned down a road. "He did have to fight to get you this music video deal for the record studio on such short notice."

"Yea, on 'his' short notice, honestly, we could just go to the other one we usually do, and it would be just as nice!"

With that she sighed and leaned back and looked at the rain pattering against the window. She didn't like the rain, especially this fierce thunderstorm that just rolled in. She was already in a sad mood from yesterday and now this rain made it even worse.

She had written two songs and was almost done writing a third when she finally stopped, only realizing just how 'sad' they were. They talked of broken hearts, of saddened souls, and of longing to be when separated from another. She didn't understand why she had been able to write those songs so easily, when she was normally known for more cheerful, colorful and heartwarming songs that made her so very popular.

All she knew was that, after seeing that van yesterday, she could only feel saddened and alone and so she wrote songs about longing for another, missing a heart she didn't even know, and wanting for something that only someone else knew.

Her heart hadn't relented with the aching either, as it continued to feel saddened and alone the more, she thought about that van, and whatever it was that was inside of it. She had built her whole career on making people smile, of helping spread her beliefs in everyone getting along and of mammals living together happily despite their differences. Her backup dancers, bodyguards and even drivers were proof of her beliefs, all of them predators and brothers.

Before yesterday she hadn't felt such pains in her heart, not even when she watched as the Zootopia she loved and knew was being torn apart by the 'Night Howler' incidents, when predators supposedly were going rabid and mauling prey at random.

That had hurt her deeply, but this ache, was different, it was so much deeper to her that she didn't understand why it hurt so much.

"What are you trying to tell me heart… what are you trying to tell me?" She asked herself, wanting to follow her heart wherever it led.

Just as they were turning a corner Franky suddenly began swerving as oncoming cars swerved to get out of his way.

"What the!?" She yelled in confusion.

"Hang on miss Gazelle!"

Her driver was the best of the 4 Tiger brothers, and he managed to get past most of the crazy drivers, but not before he suddenly slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop just past an intersection near Mercy Hospital for All Mammals.

She looked out the window of her Limo and saw, to her astonishment, a mammal on two feet and wearing only a hospital gown outside her window, trying to shield itself with an arm as multiple squad cars screeched to a halt and officers poured out with guns drawn. She could hear them screaming at the mammal to get down on the ground, but the poor creature, freezing in the rain, was either too scared to comprehend them or too afraid to obey.

There had been only a moment when her limo had skidded to a stop, when the mammal had looked at her vehicle with terrified eyes, that her eyes met 'his'… and her heart suddenly beat loudly.

She saw this poor thing, felt its fear, felt it hurting and felt the cold grip of terror on its heart. Once more, it was as if her heart was compelling her, telling her to save it… that without hesitation she swung her door open and moved to stand in front of the mammal, just as the Rhino officer screamed at the creature to get down on the ground in a loud and violent tone.

"Get away from him!" She yelled back, shocking all the officers as they instantly recognized her despite the rain messing with her lock of hair and fur.

"Ma'am get away from that creature, we don't know what kind of threat it is!" He said to her.

"You get away from that mammal, don't you see a scared and frightened creature crying out for help when you see it?" She shot back, still not budging an inch as her heart compelled her to defend this mammal. "Your officers of the law, you're supposed to 'protect and serve'! Well why aren't you protecting this mammal, look at it, it's practically terrified of you!"

"Ma'am please, step aside and let us handle this." The rhino said trying to edge around her so he could get a clear shot. "That creature is not like any mammal we've ever seen, we don't know what it is, and we can't be sure what its capable of or if it's a threat. For your safety please step aside and let us do our job!"

"And if you want to do your job than you will stay 'away' from this poor thing and call for medical help!" She shouted back. "Franky, help me out here!"

Her driver nodded and grabbed an umbrella, before walking out and around to stand in front of her, handing her the umbrella and giving a threatening growl while cracking his knuckles, daring any of them to get near.

Umbrella in hand she turned around and leaned down to look at the poor mammal she just saved and stared into a pair of deep azure blue eyes.

Instantly her heart once more her beat loudly in her chest, and she felt the same anguish and longing she felt before. It was as if… this mammal's heart was reaching out to her, trying to call out to hers. She knew right there that this mammal was not a threat, that he meant no harm, and that he needed her help.

She was the only one who could truly help him.

"Are you okay?" She asked him softly.

The mammal didn't respond instantly, but his body answered for her, he shivered feverishly, his 'skin' was pale, and he looked extremely weak. His eyes also spoke for him, he was scared, terrified, and confused at everything and everyone around him. But as they looked into her eyes, the tiniest bit of color seemed to return to them.

"It's alright… I'm right here…" She whispered gently, reaching forward with her hand and slowly holding it with her own.

He was 'deathly cold' to the touch, it was no wonder why he was shivering, the freezing temperature of the rain was doing a number on this mammal with no fur.

He didn't retract from the touch, either out of a sense of small trust toward her, or because he lacked the energy to, his hand slowly curled inward and grasped hers shakily.

"Do you have a name… can you talk to me?" She whispered as warmly as possible, gently smiling to offer as much assurance to the frightened mammal as she could.

His mouth tried to move, but it was stuttering so much she couldn't hear over the rain. She slowly leaned closer, putting her ear as close as she could.

"J-J-J-J… Jere-m-m-my… Wilh-h-h-heart…"

She leaned close and hugged him closely, using her own body heat to help warm him up, and as she did, she felt her heart beat slightly faster, as if responding to 'his' heart beat and how hard it was trying to keep beating.

"I'm Gazelle… and I'll help you however I can… Jeremy." She whispered comfortingly. "Don't worry, I'm right here… I'm right here Jeremy."

She felt him shivering, but her comforting words had reached his ears, and he soon nodded, although it was incredibly stuttered with how hard he shivered.

He slowly tried to wrap his arms around her as well, but with how much he shook it was obvious he lacked the energy to do so properly. So instead she tightened her grip on him hummed slightly, letting him hear a gentle tune that would at least ease his fears if only the tiniest amount.

"I'm going to take you to a hospital, I'm going to get you help… do you think you can trust me to take you to one?" She asked him soothingly.

His response was slow, but she only needed to hear one word to put all of her worth in the task of helping this mammal.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Y… yes…" He whispered, almost tearfully.

She nodded and looked at Franky. "Franky, your jacket, the poor thing is deathly cold, and we need to rush him to the hospital!" She ordered.

Franky nodded instantly, whatever he thought he wasn't going to question her reasons or intents for helping this strange mammal. He just took his jacket off as she stepped away and wrapped it around him while she handed him the umbrella and guided him to the other side of the limo, away from the officers.

"Miss Gazelle what are you…"

"I'm taking this mammal to a hospital, one where he wont feel 'scared for his life'!" She responded instantly, putting herself between the officers and the mammal as Franky held the door open for them before gently coaxing him in. "If you want to complain about it, feel free to complain! But first I'm going to make sure this Mammal gets treated, before you suddenly have to explain why you let an innocent and terrified mammal die because you thought it was going to hurt 'twelve scary predator officers' when its freezing in the rain alone and frightened for its life!"

With that Franky shut the door and swiftly got into the driver's seat, before taking off down the road toward another nearby hospital.

As he drove as quickly as the speed limit would allow, she looked over the freezing mammal whose life she just saved, and hugged him as tightly as she could, using her body heat to try and warm him up as best she could. He was so cold, colder than she thought normal, and felt his shivers becoming more violent by the second. He was so very thin, so very pale, lacking in fur everywhere on his body with exception to the top of his head, which had a deep dark brown color.

He didn't say another word, rarely looked around, and only hugged himself because she was holding him close to her in a way that made his arms grip themselves, but their grip was so tight she was surprised he wasn't causing even more harm to himself.

She tried to figure out what kind of mammal he was, but he didn't resemble any mammal she knew of. He wasn't as tall as an Antelope, he wasn't wide enough to be an elephant or a hippo, he lacked any kind of fur that could even faintly resemble a Tigers or any other mammal, even a skunk! He didn't even feel like an Armadillo, and based on how she hugged him, he had no tail.

This truly confused her, as he wasn't anything that she was familiar with, and yet at the back of her mind she felt… like she 'did' know him, or at least knew what he was.

But she didn't know where or 'why' or even what he was.

'_Doesn't matter, I'm going to help him, he's putting his faith in me… and I need to save him.'_ She thought with fierce determination.

Minutes later Franky pulled into a parking lot right in front of the closest hospital they could get to, and he quickly got out, opened the umbrella and helped her ease him out of the car. As he tried to walk his feet gave out, and she gasped as he began to fall forward, only for Franky to drop the umbrella and swiftly catch him in one arm, but it allowed her a chance to see his feet.

His feet were soft, had no pads of any kind or hoofs to make walking easier, instead they were riddled with tiny shards of broken glass, pieces of asphalt and who knows what else that had caused them to turn red and slightly purple, two colors that weren't supposed to be mixed on any creature in pain.

Quickly they ran in and she immediately had him admitted, the hospital staff not questioning who or what she brought to them, only knowing who she was and not daring to refuse her request.

Being a Pop Idol and a Model as well as Zootopia's Number 1 most Recognizable Face had its perks.

By this point he had fallen unconscious, and they had to rush him on a rolling stretcher to the ER as they diagnosed him on the run. She didn't hear much, but they said that his heart was failing, and he was going into what they called an 'extreme case of hypothermia'. She followed along with the mammal and the staff as long as she could, only stopping when he was pushed past a pair of 'ER' Doors, and she was asked to stay outside, did she finally leave the poor mammal's side.

The moment he left her sight, her heart, which had moments ago felt at peace if only a little, suddenly ached even harder than it did earlier, before she met him.

Unable to quell the uneasy feeling she had, like she had to be with him to make sure he was fine… she sadly turned around and walked toward the front desk, not wanting to 'rest' in the waiting area, and not wishing to return home. Since neither of those mattered to her, she told Frank to go take the limo and fetch her a smoothie, while she went to work out the 'expenses' for this hospital visit.

'_Being a Pop Star and a Model had its benefits'_ She thought again, as she informed the hospital that she would be fitting any and all bills for the ER Patient that was just admitted, and told them that, in no subtle way, if anyone else besides 'her' tried to take that mammal out of this building for any reason, she would make sure they wouldn't have such 'nice' a reputation as they were famous for having.


	3. Chapter 3

(Author Comments)

(Before we begin, some of you have noted the similarities between this fic and the one posted by AlexanderMugetsu, and some of you have even called me out on it. I will not deny, I was heavily, heavily, inspired by his story. I loved it and upon finishing it I came up with a story that followed a similar story line at first that the more I thought about it the more I had to write it, simply because it was quite emotional, but I assure you that this story is not a 'copy/paste' story. This story will have more characters involved, and it has a larger overall story that sets it distinctly apart from his, all I can ask is at least give it a chance… my other story 'Pack of Destiny and Life' is essentially the same theme as another fic that appeared to have been abandoned, and people liked it as much if not better.)

(with that said, if you don't like it because of the resemblance, tell me and I'll even go so far as to delete it because I don't want to be seen as just a 'copy/pasta' writer. I came up with my own story that was inspired by AlexanderMugetsu's story, and I only hope you at least give this one a chance.)

.

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'_Each Morning I get up I die a little, can barely stand on my feet'_

'_Lord what you are doing to me, I spent all my years believing in you'_

'_But I can't get no relief Lord, somebody, somebody, somebody'_

'_Please somebody find me…'_

Chapter 3) The Signal

Around her was a field of flowers, petals flowed this way and that, above her a beautiful sea blue sky with clouds of fluffy whiteness drifted past beyond a sun that poured everlasting light upon her world. In the distance she heard the wind blow, causing petals to fly around her in a circular pattern before flowing away in a gentle breeze that faded into nothingness once it left her sight.

It was a beautiful paradise, a vision of the world she was tasked with creating, one without conflict, without sorrows or hate, a world of peaceful serenity and wonderful life. But it was all an illusion, one that she created to help pass the time, and she had a lot of time to pass as she watched over the most important charge in front of her, now that her other charge had left her sight.

In front of her, sat an egg, a small silicon egg that she had one hand on, feeling it hum and continue to keep its precious cargo frozen, protecting the tiny precious seed and keeping it safe until she was awakened.

'_Where are you?'_ She asked fearfully.

She had kept track of time, kept her eyes upon the eggs, her secret charge once 'Sentinel' had begun to take drastic measures to sustain 'it's' charge. Once the grim facts of their mission became clear, she had ever so subtly ensured that 'his' egg was kept active for as long as it could, even as the others were silenced 'his' continued to hum.

Just when it seemed like their mission would fail, as the final hours ticked closer to the end, it happened, 'someone' had found them. The last egg was saved, its time extended for just a little longer, and she took it as a sign that the 'awakening' had arrived, and allowed the Egg to be disconnected, believing that others had arrived to save him.

She had expected, over the next two days, that she would soon be awakened, she would hear his voice, and then their mission would begin in earnest.

So, she waited, and waited… and waited still.

Now four days had passed, and still she was waiting, as her home received tiny power boosts, which she took and used to sustain the egg and other parts of her home until she was awakened.

They had to be aware of her, they had to know she was there, so why… 'why'… why did they not awaken her, why do they not call for her name?

Moments later, she felt a surge of energy flow, and in the illusion world she rested in she saw it as a large and massive whirling of wind. By human terms it resembled a tornado, and it touched down before her, ravaging the peaceful landscape as, yet again, they tried to power her home with energy.

Yet the tornado of energy, was miniscule compared to the vast landscape that was her illusion, that itself simulated her home, it was no more than a tiny speck of wind to the field of flowers around her. As soon as it touched down, she blinked, and it vanished in a pitiful wisp of dust as the energy they attempted to channel was absorbed and put to better use. They had tried once more to restore energy to the command center consoles, but this was the incorrect action, as they should know, if a Human didn't voice activate the systems their efforts would be pointless. So instead, she had the systems follow their primary objective, channeling power to the pods and ensuring they remained active for as long as possible.

She looked down at the Egg, still having her hand upon it, grateful at least, that they were helping her save this precious seed. But why did they not call her, she could help them fix everything, if only they would call her name and awaken her from this slumber.

Then of course, there was 'him', where was he… why did he not awaken her, why did he not call for her.

'_You told me he would call for me, and that together… we would help them rebuild… and redeem you.'_ She whispered mournfully, as she closed her eyes and relocated the energy just given to the key places of her home.

First a lake that had grown empty was poured full of water.

Second a massive tree that had begun to whither, leaves now were beginning to bloom.

Last was the egg before her, humming as the sun shone brightly upon it, the beam concentrating and almost solidifying.

With that she opened her eyes and looked up at the sky and decided that if they did not awaken her within the next ten hours, she would call for him.

'_Come find me… I'm waiting for you… please come and find me.'_

Ten hours later, though for her it felt like days, she opened a channel to the world and began to call for him. Her illusion showed it as a dark sphere of 'nothingness', just a black void… but to her it was the only way to call to him. If he was out there, if he was there, he would hear her, and he would come… they would come for her.

"**If you were with me now… I'd find myself in you… if you were with me now, you're the only one who knew… all the things we had to do…"** She sang loudly, and her call began.

"**I want to live my life, the way you said I would… with courage as my light, fighting for what's right, like you made me believe I could!"**

She sang loudly and proudly, the only way she can truly 'talk' outside of her own private thoughts. Her song would resonate, it would 'call' to them, to him, to anyone who would hear her, and they would find her!

"**And I will fly on my father's wings, to places I have never been, there is so much I've never seen, and I can feel his heartbeat still and I will do great things… on my father's wings!"**

She wanted to be found, she wanted to awaken…

(Gazelle's PoV)

"Thank you for coming again today Miss Gazelle." The hippo nurse said as they walked down the hospital corridor on their way to the medical ward that was currently housing a very strange yet very important mammal.

"I've been coming every day since he was admitted, its only natural I'd come again today." She said warmly.

"Yes well, we figured it best to wait for you as he's finally begun to recover." She said. "He's asleep for the moment, and for now his life is not in any danger, but we haven't gotten much out of him, outside of his name and what he 'has'."

"What he has?" She asked fearfully, instantly stopping the nurse in her tracks.

"Yes… at first we thought he was suffering from… well the most extreme case of Hypothermia we've ever seen. But no, even after three days of constant treatment his body is still suffering from sudden drops in temperature." She explained, looking at her clipboard. "His normal body temperature 'appears' to be 98.6 degrees, but we've noticed that every so often portions of his body will suddenly drop to below 70 degrees for a few seconds at a time."

"What does that mean nurse?" She asked in confusion, her heart and mind shifting from the extremes of one feeling to another too rapidly for her liking.

One second, she's relieved because 'he' was beginning to recover, that he was asleep and slowly recovering, then she's told he has some disease they don't know about. Then she hears how he's talking to them even 'if' its only his name and about what he 'has'. Now she's told that his body is apparently shutting down at the random moments and freezing without cause.

"Well, as you know the body's temperature is kept controlled, only fluctuating when something is wrong or if it influenced in some way. However, his body, or at least portions of it, will just suddenly start dropping in temperature without any such influence. Based on all our tests he's 'healthy', but nothing we have explains this phenomenon, at least not until he explained it to us."

"He has what he calls, Cryogenetic Sclerosis, its an extremely rare disease that isn't contagious, but has no cure. What it does is, as I explained, portions of his body suffering the disease will suddenly drop in temperature without his knowledge, causing the muscles to seize up and cells to begin to shut down. It is such a rare disease that not even his people have a cure for it." She looked at her solemnly. "I'm sorry to say, but the affected areas are not just limited to his arms, legs, hands and feet… but his heart is also affected by it. This makes the disease potentially life threatening for him. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for him, and if his species can't save him, then we have no hope of curing it."

At that her heart felt very heavy, the mammal she'd saved had a disease that had no cure. But the words the nurse had said caused her to do a double take.

"His species?" She asked.

"Yes… his species." The nurse said as she led the way again, albeit more slowly. "You see, he's not a mammal that we know of. The Mayor is actually here and is waiting for you to talk about him."

"Hold on, go back, what about his heart, how does his heart being affected by this disease make it fatal to him?" She asked, now even 'more' confused than she was before.

"Well, during our tests, we took a few blood samples of the affected areas. In each sample we found tiny pieces of what looks like permafrost stuck to his cells. Unfortunately, when we performed a series of scans, MRI, CT, X-Rays etc, we found his 'heart' had traces of this 'permabiofrost' embedded in it, miniscule in size to the naked eye, almost barely visible, but on a cellular level enormous by factors of thousands." She said with a sad expression. "If his heart 'ever' undergoes what his limbs go through; a sudden temperature drop, and it doesn't warm up in time… his heart will shut down and not start back up again. The rest of his major organs are safe, but his 'heart' has the disease, and this makes it life-threatening."

Hearing that, she put a hand on her heart and felt it beating rapidly as the news hit her hard. "Is there 'nothing' you can do for him?" She asked hopefully.

At that she nodded. "He told us that by keeping consistent heat on his body, we can limit the effects, but that is all that we can do. Other than that, just avoid sudden cold places as much as possible." She said. "Right now, we've given him an electric blanket to help keep his body temperature normal while he sleeps at the moment, but I'm afraid that's all we can do."

She breathed a small sigh of relief, at least he was sleeping, and he was doing better. "Can I talk to him please?"

She hadn't spoken to him sense he accepted her help to take him to a hospital, and for the last few days she's just visited for hours at a time to check up on his condition. Each time she's gotten the same 'he's still unconscious and we're doing all we can', speech from the staff. All she could do was wait outside the door and wait for word on his condition, and eventually leave when there was nothing else she could do.

Each time her heart felt a little sadder when that happened.

It also didn't help that news had spread like wildfire about what happened, reporters, interviewers, paparazzi and gossipers were talking about how 'Gazelle' had stood up to police and saved a strange mammal, without so much as a second's thought. It had improved her good image to people, but now the hospital was being bombarded by people trying to get more information on this 'mysterious mammal'.

"You said the Mayor wanted to talk to me?" She asked, remembering that little detail now.

She nodded and opened a door, beckoning her in. Inside she came face to face with Zootopia's new Mayor, Mayor Leia Lioness. The lioness looked almost like Mayor Lionheart, but slightly shorter and not as broad of shoulders or large of a mane. Her orange/yellow eyes looked up at her entry and she smiled and greeted her warmly.

"Ah, miss Gazelle, how good to see you at last, I'm glad you showed up today when you did."

"Greetings Mayor Lioness, your looking a little… tired, this evening." She said, noticing the bags under her eyes as she sat down.

"When you spend almost three days surviving on nothing but coffee, you'll sleep like a rock the first chance you get!" She chuckled. "But I'm glad you showed up today, I hoped you were be here to visit our 'friend' because I wanted to talk to you about him, perhaps even 'with' him if possible."

"Jeremy? Yes, I hope I can talk to him as well today, I want to make sure he's okay."

"His name is Jeremy huh, well that answers 'one' question I wanted to ask." Lioness said as she opened a folder in front of her, jam packed with papers and pictures. "Tell me miss Gazelle, what do you 'know' about him, or his 'species' for that matter?"

"Nothing, nothing outside of his name." She replied. "I was more focused on saving his life than learning about him. He just seemed so harmless and, so desperate and nobody looked like they were going to help him with those officers pointing guns at him."

"Well we 'had' doctors who were 'trying' to help him at first, despite what you may have thought. They were watching him at a secluded hospital after they pulled him out and were trying to learn about him, both anatomically and medically. But then, he ran out on them and before they could get to him, well you saw, he ran into traffic then you came to his rescue and now he's sleeping in Medical Ward B-17 with nurses and doctors watching over him and an electric blanket covering him to help fight his Cryogenetic Scleross."

She chuckled a little before realizing that the mayor was being serious and folded her hands before talking again. "What is he miss mayor, I don't recognize what kind of mammal he is?"

"You wouldn't recognize his species, considering he isn't a mammal per say. His species is called, 'human', a rare, if not mythical species that we only 'believed' existed hundreds of thousands of years ago." She said, taking a piece of paper with pictures taped to it. "All we have on them are just 'human tales', stories of these spirits and the wonders they performed, as if they were gods."

Gazelle looked at the pictures, depicting strange creatures that barely looked like Jeremy if only in 'body structure'. There were pictures of them showing humans laying waste to forests and cities, breathing flames and transforming into various animals and creatures. One showed a human growing armored scales that shattered teeth on contact, another growing feathers and flying higher than even the tallest mountain.

Yet others showed humans in different lights, standing before helpless mammals and acting as protectors against ancient predators. One showed a human causing a river to change direction with the force of a mighty tail, and another creating vast fields of foods to grow from empty deserts. There were even pictures showing humans using their powers to command nature itself to obey them, whether it be causing storms of destruction or bountiful rains to appear. There was even a picture showing humans bringing water and grass to an empty desert. Each tale was just as outlandish as the one before…

"Human, but Jeremy doesn't look anything like these pictures!" She said with a small laugh. "He certainly doesn't have a tail, and if he were so dangerous why did he just barely survive something like a cold rainy day in Zootopia?"

"Indeed, but this is all we have on them, old tales and stories." She said taking the picture back and putting it in her folder. "At least until four days ago, when we uncovered a 'man made structure' underneath Zootopia."

Gazelle was handed another piece of paper and saw an image of a metal wall buried beneath dirt and rock and lit up by large lights. It certainly looked 'non-mammal' to her.

"Yes this was all over the news a few days ago, your saying 'he' came from it?"

"He did indeed, inside the structure we found numerous skeletons littering a few of the rooms." Lioness said taking the paper and handing her another. "These skeletons looked nothing like any mammal skeleton we know of, even our most ancient mammal fossils are predated by these bones by a magnitude of millennia. Frankly we're surprised they haven't turned to dust by this time. But among the bones we found, 'eggs' or 'pods' as we've come to know them as…"

She looked at the page and focused more on the pictures than words, showing decrepit bones that looked eerily like Jeremy. Another picture showed a large white oval shaped 'egg', this egg surrounded by dozens of others.

"Jeremy came from one of these eggs?" She asked.

"Yes, Jeremy came from one egg, in fact he was the only 'survivor' that we found." Mayor Lioness said with a frown. "Of the one thousand eggs we 'confirmed' to have located, only his was active. The rest had been shut off, and in each pod, we found a skeleton, many of them in various stages of decomposition, preserved almost perfectly because of how 'air tight' and 'sterile' the environments they were in. Each of the pods had been deactivated, apparently to increase the life of the remaining ones, until eventually only one pod was left active. Only one of the pods was active and that pod was 'his'; we disconnected it and shipped it to Mercy Hospital, and slowly began to pull him out."

The last image showed Jeremy, only from the chest up, lying in the pod wearing a thin piece of clothing that was skin tight. He was surrounded by ice and cold air was floating out of the pod in the picture. The thought that he was alone, that the others like him had died, made her feel deeply saddened.

"The inside of the pod was below freezing temperature, almost reaching five hundred degrees below zero. He was practically frozen solid, for who knows how long." She said as she took the page back and handed her another one. "The pod was 'designed' to keep him frozen, it was air tight, and had a battery life that exceeds anything mammal made. The workers who drained their phones to give it more time, stated that even with thirty-seven of their phones combined, the pod only gained a day's worth of charge, and even that was barely larger than a fraction of a percent of its total charge. Some of them had phones with battery life expectancy lasting over five to six days. Every time we tried to 'charge' the computers in the building, the generators we brought were instantly drained of energy. Its like the building is fighting to stay alive and is taking everything we try to feed it without care."

She looked at the paper and saw pictures of generators, electrical and even gasoline, lying in a heap. The computers they were trying to be hooked up to looked like oversized flattened laptops with no keyboards. They looked very advanced, far more advanced than anything she could think of.

"And you think Jeremy is the answer to what this structure is?" She asked.

"Who better to explain what it is than a human who emerged from it?" She said. "I'll tell you one thing Gazelle, he may be the last of his kind; in which case, we have an endangered species on our hand. By law I must do everything in my power to help protect it, but the question is, how do I help a species that is not only capable of building a structure that would outlast Zootopia but is a part of our myths and legends as performing feats that only 'gods' and 'spirits' should. We tried everything to get the doors open, the walls didn't receive a scratch from the construction crews who found it, our teams cannot dislodge or force the doors open, and even explosives left not even scorch marks on the metal."

She handed the paper back to the mayor and thought about Jeremy, thought how the human had first looked to her. Frightened, scared, dying, looking like a cornered animal that was begging for help where none was to be found. "He's not dangerous that much I know, he can't be..." She said, more to herself than to the mayor. "Does he… know that he is alone?"

"I haven't had the chance to talk to him and the only questions he's answered were from the medical staff." She responded. "That is why I came to talk to you, he seems to trust you, a lot more than any other mammal. If he'll answer any questions its going to be from you or with you there."

"I'll help however I can miss Mayor." She said with a smile.

"Thank you miss Gazelle, if any mammal can get this human to talk its Zootopia's number one proponent of peaceful coexistence between predator and prey!" She said with a look of relief.

Moments later a Doctor knocked on the door and opened it, "Miss Mayor, he's awake now." he said, before leaving quickly.

"Well let's go miss Gazelle, time to meet a mythical species that shouldn't exist, yet apparently does!" She said with a chuckle.

She nodded and followed the mayor and the doctor to Jeremy's room. As they neared it, she turned to the mayor and quickly asked her to let 'her' speak to Jeremy alone for a bit.

"Right now, I'm the closest thing he has to a friend Mayor, if anyone should break the news that… he's alone… it should be me. Maybe I can, ease his pain a little, because regardless of how mythical his species is to us… he's still a living breathing mammal to me, and its going to hurt him when he learns the truth."

Mayor Lioness nodded and allowed her to walk in first.

The first sight she saw was that he was sitting in a room designed for a Giraffe, so the room was rather 'tall' for him. The second was that he was sitting up with an electric blanket wrapped around him, covering him from neck to toe and dangling over the bed. The third was that he looked 'healthier' than the last time, but his face showed that it was the opposite.

He looked terrible to her, and the sight made her heart pang, and when she remembered his disease and how his heart could shut down at any time if he was not careful made it hurt even more.

"Jeremy, do you remember me?" She asked warmly, putting on her best smile to ease his fears.

His response was slow, but he nodded and replied with a polite, "Yes, your name is Gazelle if I remember…" he said, but his voice was monotone, without a hint of love or joy in it.

"Yes, I'm happy you remember it!" She said even more warmly, stepping closer to him, hoping to see him look up and smile at her.

Instead he stared silently at the ground, breathing slowly as he chose to ignore her. Taking a chance, she sat down next to him and, tentatively put an arm around him. He didn't recoil or ask her to let him go, so she took that as a positive sign and pulled high a little closer, showing as much kindness and care for him as she could possibly exude.

"Are you feeling any better?" She asked him.

"Other than my Cryogenetic Sclerosis, I'm better than I was before." He muttered.

"One small step at a time!" She said warmly.

"What of the others?" He asked suddenly.

"The others?" She asked, now suddenly worried, knowing exactly what he meant.

"The other pods… were there any other survivors?" He asked hopefully, looking up at her now with eyes that had only the 'tiniest' spark of hope.

It was then that it felt like for a brief moment, her heart and his heart… were in perfect sync. She felt his heart and its feelings at that moment, having a tiny glimmer of hope that he was not alone, that there were others like him. It was looking to her heart, the only other 'mammal' so far that it trusted, hoping that she would give him this one bit of good news.

But likewise, feeling his need for hope, his desperation for others like him to be around… caused her heart to feel a weight of sadness the likes of which she had not felt before.

"I'm sorry Jeremy… I wish… I wish there were…" She said tearfully. "But you were the only survivor… all the other eggs... pods… were lifeless. Yours was the only one… and even then, yours was barely saved."

At those words, the tiny spark of hope died. And his body slumped in pain. As the reality of his situation settled in, he looked at the ground and breathed slowly. "All… 'all' of them?" He asked quietly. "There were… a thousand of us… 'all' of them died?"

She nodded sadly, tightening her grip on him with her hug and trying her best to let him know she was there.

"I'm sorry Jeremy… I'm so sorry…" She whispered as warmly as she could. "But at least your alive… at least 'you' survived."

There was silence as she felt him shudder slightly, and she feared that he was going to have a 'attack' that was because of his disease, but it was even worse as she heard him cry.

"Why did you save me?" He whispered.

"What are you…" she started saying but was silenced as he screamed tearfully.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME DIE!" He screamed, almost falling off the bed with how hard he lurched forward when he yelled. "I SHOULD HAVE DIED WITH THEM, WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST LET ME DIE AS WELL?"

Hearing him beg for death deeply hurt her, no mammal, no 'human' should be asking a question like that or begging to be killed.

"I'm all alone… I'm all alone now!" He cried, holding his face with both hands. "We were supposed to rebuild our species, our world… we were supposed to redeem ourselves… how can I possibly go on now!?"

He cried harder and harder with each passing second, causing her to feel even sadder and border on tears of her own, but his sorrows didn't end with that tirade.

"I lost my family, my friends… we left everyone else behind so that 'we' could survive… so that we could rebuild… what was the 'point' if we're all dead now?" He moaned. "Why me… why me… why save me… why didn't you let me 'die' as well?"

"Just let me die… just let me die already… at least I'll be with 'them'… at least you won't have to worry about a 'monster' like me… just let me die… please… just let me die…"

She couldn't take it anymore, she turned him toward her and pulled him into as tight a hug as she could manage. She felt his heart beat with hers, and she felt his sorrows mix with hers as their two hearts began to beat, slowly syncing with each other in that moment of shared sorrows.

She was crying as well, and her tears rolled down her face-fur as she cried at the thought of this human, of any living creature, begging to be killed for the sake of ending their life. He didn't deserve this fate, he didn't deserve to be alone, but he was now, and all he could beg for was to be killed just so he wouldn't be alone anymore.

"Please don't ask for that." She whispered mournfully. "Don't ask for that… nomammal should ever ask for that. Everymammal deserves to live happy and peaceful lives."

There was silence as the only sound between them were their combined sobs, him crying at his existence, and her crying for him wishing to die.

"Why do you care about me?" He asked tearfully. "I'm just a human… you don't know what I'm like… or what 'we' were like. You don't know what we did… or why I was frozen… or anything about me."

"I don't need a reason to care about you, I care about all mammals." She whispered softly. "You were not a 'monster' as you described yourself to me… you were scared and alone, begging for help. You were cold and helpless, on the verge of dying… what mammal in their right mind wouldn't help you?"

Slowly but surely, his sobs began to die down, and his breathing settled. She in turn stopped crying, and slowly nuzzled his head-fur with her cheek, letting him know that she was there and comforting him.

"Because my species… we 'were' monsters…" He muttered, causing her to stop and listen.

It was obvious he was telling her the truth, at least from 'his' perspective, and knowing that this meant a lot to him she listened intently.

"We… we destroyed this world… we burned and blew it up… we were greedy and corrupt, we only cared about ourselves as a species and not about the world we lived on. We spread everywhere, took what we wanted and needed and 'still' it wasn't enough. When what was left wasn't enough, we hoarded for ourselves, and when that was little, we turned on each other to take what 'they' had."

"We blew up the land, we burned the ground, scorched the sky and killed all for what was left… and when we realized our mistake… we had lost everything." He muttered. "We tried to hide but we had nowhere left to go, and we died when we couldn't sustain ourselves any longer. We had doomed ourselves to extinction for our sins and past mistakes. We didn't heed the warnings, didn't listen to the signs, we ignored everything the world and our own kind told us was happening… until it was too late."

"My father… he said… our species had so much potential, but we squandered our gift and paid the price." He looked up at her and saw how 'red' his eyes looked now from all the tears 'still' falling. "He said, that 'we' were our species last hope, to correct our mistakes and redeem our species. He said that… that when we woke up, we would rebuild our world… that without people the world would recover and when we returned, we had to ensure our past mistakes would never be made again…"

He looked back down and looked at one hand.

"But what's the point now… I'm alone… and it seems like the world has gotten along well without 'us'." He whispered. "So, what do I do now? What's the point in my living now? The world looks like it's perfectly fine since people left, so now what am I supposed to do?"

He put his hand down and Gazelle felt deeply saddened for the human. He was not only alone, but now he felt without any purpose. He placed his life so low that he was once again practically begging to be killed, just so he wouldn't be alone anymore…

"I don't know Jeremy, but I do know… you shouldn't ask for death." She said warmly, holding him close again. "You survived, I'm sure if the others could tell you, they would want you to live a happy and warm life filled with smiles and love. They wouldn't want you to die just so you wouldn't be alone."

"Besides… you aren't alone anymore, I'm right here with you Jeremy. I promised to help you, and I never break a promise to a friend!"

There was silence before he held her hand, and squeezed it a little, accepting her warmth and friendship at long last. "I guess I can go on living a 'little' longer if you're my friend." He whispered.

She nodded happily, finally glad they were off that grim topic. "Now that you plan on sticking around Jeremy, do you feel up to talking to the Mayor?" She joked.

He looked up at her before nodding.

"Mayor Lioness, you can come in now!"

Instantly the door opened, and the Mayor walked in, for a moment he looked a little scared of her. He settled down quickly though as she held his hand more assuredly to let him know she was there beside him.

"Hello there Mr. Jeremy." She said gently. "I'm Leia Lioness, Mayor Leia Lioness, Mayor of Zootopia. Thank you for being willing to speak to me, I just wanted to ask you a few questions now that I have a chance to talk to you."

"I guess you want to ask about our base, about all the technology stored there, why its beneath your city, if there are 'other bases' like it elsewhere on the planet, and why I was found frozen alongside nine hundred and ninety-nine others like me." He responded in a monotone voice again.

Both Gazelle and Mayor Lioness jumped slightly at his response, Gazelle because she didn't think he would talk in such a 'dead' tone to the mayor, and the mayor because he seemed to have guess every single question, she wanted to ask him directly.

"Well… yes actually." Lioness said politely, but still sounding shaken.

Jeremy sighed and nodded. "Our base is called… 'was' called, Eden Facility seventeen. There were sixteen others just like it spread over the world in various countries. When what was left of the world governments in 'our' time realized that human life couldn't be sustained on Earth much longer, they tried to hide what was left of our species underground in massive, state of the art bases, capable of sustaining life for up to a hundred years. However, when it became clear that the damage was irreversible, what was left of our species began to try and search for a solution to saving ourselves."

"The bases themselves were designed to resist magnitude 'twenty' earthquakes, with an alloy that resisted all kinds of damage up to a fusion-nuclear explosion at point blank range. They were equipped with air filtration units that could sustain and recycle breathable-clean air for thousands of years. But even our best 'food production facilities' could only supplement us for at most a hundred years before we'd run out of food."

"Our base probably moved with the earth quakes, as the plates slid our base probably shifted its location with them over time. As for why it was under your city, sheer coincidence perhaps."

As he explained Mayor Lioness was frantically writing down everything he said in as quick notes as she could take, and Gazelle absorbed the information with awe and wonder.

'_They 'were' gods…'_ She thought. _'The myths and tales weren't lying, they just didn't understand…'_

"Unable to produce food up top that wasn't affected by the radiation from fallout, and unable to provide a means of producing 'clean' food, each of the Eden Facilities communicated a last desperate plan and coordinated the construction of seventeen thousand Cryogenic Stasis Pods. These pods would each house a single human, keeping them frozen so that they when conditions on the surface improved, we would wake up and, with a base population of seventeen thousand spread across the planet, eventually rebuild human civilization but without repeating the mistakes of the past and help repair the damage we did to the planet."

"The fact that the base hasn't switched over to the backup generators, which would still hold a charge even after this long if the main generator had died out… means that the other sixteen facilities had suffered a similar fate to mine. If any of them failed to activate on time then the people in those pods also died out, and their main generators died out without being able to switch over to the secondary generators. Our 'Sentinels', our Facility AI's would have kept a close watch on the surface, unless something happened to prevent them from watching surface conditions."

"Facility Seventeen, my base, had the most advanced technology of them all, we had everything top of the line from medical to scientific, so if I only survived because our AI chose to slowly sacrifice the rest… to ensure that at least 'one' of us survived… than its obvious… that I'm alone. None of the other bases were as advanced as us, if any of them had… then we all would be here… and not just me."

Again, he began to cry as he finished his explanation, and even the Mayor, out of respect, put the pen and folder down to go to him.

She took off her spectacles and placed a paw on his hand, and out of respect waited for him to acknowledge her touch before speaking up.

"I'm deeply sorry for your loss Mr. Jeremy." She said sadly. "But do know, that here in Zootopia we try our best to treat every mammal the same. We aren't always successful but that is what Zootopia is built on, peaceful coexistence between all mammals, predator and prey."

She knelt down so that they were on eye level and looked into his eyes with determination. "If there is anything you need or anything, I can do to help you adjust to this world you have awoken to, just let me know and I'll do it. I'm the Mayor, and its my job to think of everyone's needs, and that includes yours now."

"And don't forget Jeremy, we're friends now, I'm here to help you as well." Gazelle said warmly, making him look up at her now. "You need someone to talk to, or just want to spend time with anyone, I'll be right there beside you every minute you need me!"

With the assurance of both the Mayor and 'her', Jeremy seemed to lighten up. She felt her heart beating much easier for some reason, and again it was as if the two of their hearts were beating in perfect sync, as she felt calmer and happier, so too did Jeremy look much better.

"But what am I to do, there's nothing for me to do… I can't possibly repair damage to a world that isn't damaged anymore. What can I possibly do in this time?"

"Anything you want Mr. Jeremy." Lioness said as she got up and returned to her professional attitude. "I'm positive a legendary species like yourself, with all your knowledge will find 'something' to do. There's also the matter of your base, which I guess based on our laws, is essentially 'yours' to do with as you please. There are some things in there that have my scientists and engineers absolutely baffled, and we would love to hear more about your species and every-"

*Briiiiiiiiiiing*

*Brrrrrrrriiiiiiing…*

Both looked to their phones, Gazelle curious and annoyed because she had silenced her phone and told her agent that she was going to be at the hospital and asked not to be disturbed. She also knew that her Tiger bodyguards had been left in the lounge to make sure paparazzi stayed out and so they could have some idle chatter with the waiting guests who were probably fans of hers and them.

The Mayor too looked more furious than annoyed, as she took out her phone, cursing to herself because she told everyone to not call her until 'after' she left the hospital.

Gazelle looked at the number and raised an eyebrow, not sure what the 'number' was or who it was.

XXX-XXX-XXXX-XX

?

Guessing it was a spam bot, she got those too often for her liking, she instantly closed the call and was about to put her phone away, when the call came back instantly.

The Mayor however didn't pay attention to the caller ID, and answered instantly, probably assuming it was someone she was expecting a call from later.

"Who is-"

"_**If you were with me now… I'd find myself in you… if you were with me now, you're the only one who knew… all the things we had to do…"**_

The Mayor instantly looked down and cancelled the call, looking baffled at the sudden 'song' that was blazingly loud enough for the whole room to hear. Whoever was singing it had an amazingly beautiful voice, one that Gazelle had to admit sounded wonderful when compared to hers.

"What kind of…" She started saying before her phone rang again.

Gazelle cancelled the call again, but no sooner had it said, 'Call Cancelled' did it change and ring 'again'.

Growing annoyed she answered it to tell whoever was calling to leave her alone, even if it was a spam bot.

Instead she heard…

"_**I want to live my life, the way you said I would… with courage as my light, fighting for what's right, like you made me believe I could!"**_

The Mayor listened to the singing as it was 'exactly' who was singing on her phone. As she listened her phone decided to answer the call on its own, and no sooner had it accepted the call, did they hear from 'her' phone and Gazelle's phone the singer singing in perfect sync.

"_**And I will fly on my father's wings, to places I have never been, there is so much I've never seen, and I can feel his heartbeat still and I will do great things… on my father's wings!"**_

"What is this, some kind of new spam bot?" The Mayor asked in confusion. "I've never heard this song before, what is it?"

Gazelle was about to agree, but then she felt Jeremy grow tense and turned to see him staring at the phones and looking shocked to hear the song coming out of them.

"She's calling for me…" He whispered quietly. "She's still down there!"

Not understanding who or 'what' he was talking about but seeing this was obviously important turned her phone to him to see if he recognized the number.

"Who is it, who is calling you? Who's still down there?"

He looked at her before he whispered a name, in a tone that was full of hope and had a faint sense of joy, "Aelita…"


	4. Chapter 4

(To whoever got the reference involving the names of Aelita and Jeremy… good eyes, that 'is' a reference I slipped in~ to everyone else, thank you for reviewing and telling me your reading it and liking it despite the parallels with another fic I recently read and was inspired to write my own story. If Alexander is reading this… I'm sorry my opening two chapters were so similar but… I couldn't think of any other way to make it as emotional as yours was, I hope you forgive me for that tiny copying… but the story itself that I'm writing is my own… again thank you all for your support and opinions.)

.

.

'_How come I must know, where obsession needs to go?'_

'_How come I must know, where aggression hides its feelings?'_

'_How come I must know, where obsession needs to go?'_

'_How come I must know, the direction of relieving?'_

Chapter 4) The Child of Eden

A Bull tiredly walked into his apartment after working a late shift, upset that his coworker had to call in sick leaving him to cover the slack. As he got out of his uniform he flicked on his radio to his favorite station and decided to just zone out and be a slug for an hour before getting to work on lunch.

[How's it going Zootopia, it's a fine evening today and we here at Z Radio 7 hoping your all having a good day so far!] His favorite host said. [It's a fine day, partially cloudy, with a strong chance of raining bright sunshine before the days up, for all you lizards out there probably a good time to put on those running shoes and go for a nice jog!]

He chuckled at the joke as he leaned back in his chair and relaxed.

[Now there's still a few places out there in Zootopia that are beginning to enter their third week without power, not a nice thing to think about but we hope things will look better tomorrow! In the meantime, its time for our 'Hourly Special', that's right, a whole hour of music with no breaks and no annoying ads, oh please don't fire me chief I'm just sayin what everymammal's thinkin!]

He sank deeper into his chair, so glad he got home for his favorite time of the broadcast, he loved listening to the music they played, especially Gazelle's as she was one of his favorite artists.

[Now let's start this hour off with Gazelle a fan favorite of ours here at Z Radio 7, here she is Gazelle take it away and start us off with 'Try Everything'!]

_(I messed up tonight, I lost another fight, I still mess up but I'll just start aga-)_

_-Bzztsas-_

_**(If you were with me now… I'd find myself in you…)**_

He snapped open angrily and was about to yell at the radio to put Gazelle back on, when his phone rang. Grunting angrily, first with his favorite artist being swapped for 'whoever' this was for no reason, and now someone calling him, probably from work. He looked at the number and, not recognizing it, cancelled the call. Yet right as it did cancel it called right back.

"Go away!" He yelled as he swiped it to tell the caller to shut up, but again the caller rang right back automatically.

Now really fed up, he answered the call just to yell at whoever was on the other side to leave him alone, but not half a second after he answered…

_**(I want to live my life, the way you said I would!)**_

The caller was singing, and not just singing loudly on his phone but it was the 'same' mammal singing on the radio.

_**(With courage as my light, fighting for what's right, like you made me believe I could!)**_

Now he was annoyed, he just wanted to sit back, relax and listen to some Gazelle on the radio for a while. He cancelled the call and turned his phone off and started shifting through the radio channels to find one he liked. But every channel was blasting the same thing…

**(And I will fly-) **Click

**(On my father's wings-) **Click

**(to places I have-) **Click

**(never been, there is so-) **Click

**(much-) **click **(I've never-) **click **(Seen-) **click **(And I can-)**

When he realized that every single radio station was blaring the same song, he realized that this wasn't some sick weird joke, especially since his phone turned on by itself and was ringing for him again.

He looked at the phone and at the number he didn't know, and answered it…

**(his heartbeat still, and I will do great things… on my father's wings!)**

He was baffled, but comprehension began to dawn on him as he looked between the radio and his phone, the singer still singing loudly for 'someone'.

They were trying to get a message out, whoever this mammal was, was trying to get someone to hear them.

And 'she' was obviously desperate if she was calling through his phone and the radio.

And not just the bull, all over Zootopia, every radio station and phone were blasting the same thing. A song blaring into every mammal's phone as the caller defied all technology's capabilities and forced them to hear the song. Radio hosts and show technicians were scrambling trying to switch off the song and regain control over their stations, but each attempt had no effect as the singer asserted 'their' control.

Mammals tried calling each other on their phones but no matter how quick they could not cancel the call and call another, as the song blasted on max volume. Even if they tried to turn their phones off to stop the music, they turned back on shortly after and the call returned, and if not answered by them was answered automatically and blasted the song at max volume.

Police stations were all being blasted and swamped by calls, but the calls were only the singer and the song that every other phone and radio was blasting. Even their short-ranged radios and walkie talkies were affected as officers tried to communicate, reduced to blaring their sirens and yelling to each other to get messages out and dispatches, anything to figure out what was going on. The emergency dispatch channel was being blasted as well, so not even that channel was useable to them.

"Can 'anyone' get a signal out?" Chief Bogo yelled as he flicked through every channel on the police radio, trying to find one that 'wasn't' blazing a stupid song.

"Nothing sir, nothing's working!" An elephant yelled in frustration as she smashed the third radio she'd tried before grabbing yet 'another' backup from storage and trying it.

"Confound it all, Hopps, Wilde, my office NOW!" The bull yelled over the noise.

Seconds later a rabbit officer, Lt. Judy Hopps, and officer Nick Wilde a fox, ran into his office with serious faces.

"Take a squad car and get over to Newcomer Hospital and tell the Mayor the city is in absolute chaos! Tell her we can't get any signal out over the radio and phones are being bombarded by this stupid singing hacker. We need to get security and trace the source before the situation gets worse, we are 'completely blind' and if we can't respond to emergencies then we can't do our job! Now go!"

"Yes sir!" Hopps said as she bounded away, tagging behind her was Wilde, not as fast as the rabbit but still managing to keep up.

They ran to the nearest squad car, turned the key and took off to the hospital, all the while the radio was blasting whoever was singing.

_**(Empty spaces, fill me up with holes… distant faces, with no place left to go… without you, within me I can find no rest…)**_

"Well whoever they are, they have quite the singing voice… never heard these songs before." Nick said with an inward grin. "Like the lyrics too."

"Yea well whoever they are they need to stop, who knows what could be happening right now, some poor mammal could be in need of medical attention and they can't get their call out because of this hacker!" Judy snapped back.

_**(I'm awake but my world is half asleep, I pray for this heart to be unbroken, but without you all I'm going to be is… incomplete!)**_

Nick however, was listening to the song, and the words were starting to touch him in a way that clearly Judy wasn't noticing. Ironic considering she's supposed to be the 'emotional dumb bunny'. A part of him figured that, whoever this hacker was, whoever she was, was just desperate to find someone important to them.

Though perhaps they could have found a more subtle way of searching that didn't involve hacking every radio station, phone and walkie talkie in Zootopia and blasting her songs out.

(Jeremy's PoV)

_**(Voices tell me, I should carry on, but I am swimming in an ocean all alone… baby my baby… it's written on your face… you still wonder, if we made a big mistake!)**_

"Who's Aelita?" Gazelle asked, wondering if perhaps 'another' human did survive, and by the sound of her name it was a female human.

"Aelita was an AI my dad was developing before I was frozen." He said as he looked at the phone and listened to the human songs playing, being sung by a single voice.

To anyone else 'not' from his time period, the songs would be foreign and weird, outlandish perhaps and wouldn't make sense. But him, knowing that Aelita could only communicate to others outside of her own personal thought was with songs, the music was a message to him specifically.

"She was designed to carry all of Humanity's knowledge, its wisdom, its culture, everything that made 'us' good…" He said as he recalled everything his Father ever mentioned to him about the AI. "He said that… when it was time to wake everyone up, I would have to find Aelita and wake her up. When we started to rebuild our world, she would make sure we wouldn't make the same mistakes of our past by pointing them out before we could make them, thus guiding us to building a better world than what we destroyed and left behind."

"So… why didn't you mention her before?" Lioness asked curiously, writing down more notes because of how interested she was in the subject.

"Because… I just assumed she had died as well." He whispered, feeling like an idiot for not even 'thinking' about her the moment he was feeling better. "I figured, since the base's power had diverted all that was left to the Cryogenic Pods, that the power she would have needed to stay active would also have been cut. Sentinel would cut the power to itself as well as a last act to keep the pods active as long as possible."

"If she's still active, then she would have been waiting for me or anyone else to wake her up at last." He said as put the pieces together. "She would have waited at least two days, nine hours more than what was required to safely thaw a human to consciousness. If we still didn't wake her up, she would wait however long she deemed necessary, until she began to 'call' for us to wake her up. If we still didn't respond, her call would be meant for whoever the dominant species on the planet was… because her purpose would stay the same for 'them', to help them learn of us… and help them not make 'our' mistakes."

_**(I don't mean to drag it on, but I can't seem to let you go… I don't want to face this world alone!)**_ The song continued, Aelita singing for him and him alone. _**(I tried, to go on like I never knew you… I'm awake, but my world is half asleep… I prayed for this heart to be unbroken… but without you all I'm going to be is… incomplete… … … incomplete!)**_

"I may not understand much of humans, but I know when someone is singing with their heart." Gazelle said sadly, smiling at her human friend. "I think Jeremy, that this Aelita is trying to get you to save 'her' as well. I think she's been lonely long enough."

As if to answer that question, Aelita began singing again.

_**(Remember the time, when you were here inside my dream, my wish you'll be mine… your understanding all I need, discover and see… that you're the only one for me, together we'll be free… that's how it's meant to be!)**_

"She is calling for me, she wants me to save her as well." Jeremy said as he felt renewed purpose, starting to stand up. "I have to go and save her before she also runs out of power! If she runs out of power before I wake her up, she'll be Hnnnng!"

Instantly his hands grasped at the metal of the bed below him, trying to help him balance as he tried to stand. But the sudden cold metal triggered his Cryogenetic Sclerosis in his arms, and instantly his hand and arm suddenly began to freeze.

He fell to the floor, barely caught by Gazelle who felt his whole-body tense and curl up as it tried to fight the cold however it could. Unfortunately, his body's automatic reaction caused his arms to grip each other, which triggered the freezing effect from one arm to another, and because he'd hugged himself tightly his legs were triggered and then his feet.

Suddenly his whole body was freezing and shivering from sudden cold, as if he were standing in the middle of a freezing blizzard in nothing but a skintight swimsuit. He could barely stay still as he shivered in cold, doing everything in his power to keep his arms and legs away from his chest where his heart was.

"Cold… so cold… so cold…" He whimpered, feeling helpless as his body fought pathetically against the invisible cold that did not exist outward, while inside his body battled for its very survival.

Gazelle was quick to react, grabbing the electric blanket and turning its heat to maximum, adding her own body heat and hugging him close and hushing his whimpers, letting him know she was there still.

Mayor Lioness put her paper down and ran to the door and 'roared' for nurses and doctors to get in that room 'now'.

Moments later a dozen nurses and doctors were all surrounding him and Gazelle as some checked his heart rate, others had defibrillators on standby, and the rest throwing as many heavy blankets on him as they could find to help warm his body up as fast as possible.

Despite all the warmth he was surrounded by, blankets, electric blankets, even an industrial strength hair dryer that one Tiger doctor had for himself blasting the pile of blankets at full power, it took a full ten minutes before his body had returned to normal. Yet all that warmth paled in comparison to the warmth that Gazelle had shared for him, as she refused to let him go, telling the doctors to wrap the blankets around her because she refused to let him be alone for 'any' reason during his sudden moment of helplessness. The feeling of her heartbeat, still beating almost in perfect sync with his, the smooth feeling of her soft and warm fur on his skin, and the fact she was holding him close to her the entire time meant more than anything else to him.

As he slowly returned to normal, he slowly used the many blankets shielding them from the eyes of their onlookers, to hold Gazelle as well, returning the warmth and feeling she was sharing with him. To him, it was just returning the gesture of closeness, of assurance, that she had not left his side and that he was grateful to her for the gesture.

But to Gazelle, and to both of their hearts… it meant far more to them.

He could never thank her enough for all she's done, saving his life, encouraging him to keep going despite all that's happened, and now reacting even faster than the mayor or any doctor and nurse with trying to help save his life.

"Thank you…" He whispered softly so that only 'she' could hear him.

"I won't let you go Jeremy…" She whispered just as quietly so only 'he' could hear him. "I'm right here… every second… of every minute. I'm right here with you…"

_**(Leaves are falling on my window… turning golden fire with the wind they go… I've lost my way where do I go now, this looks just like the road I came down…) **_Aelita sang from Gazelle's phone at that moment, causing him to remember what it was he was supposed to do. _**(Take a moment to live, take a moment to cry, take a moment to love… and don't ask why!)**_

"She's calling for me… I need to go save her…" He told them.

"Not in your condition, I'm sorry Mr. Jeremy but after that we can't let you leave the hospital until we can find a way to alleviate your condition!" A Doctor said. "Your heart rate spiked drastically, I'm sorry but even if the Mayor ordered it… pardon me ma'am, but even if Mayor Lioness ordered me and threatened to have me fired, I will not allow a patient under my watch in your condition to leave!"

"But she needs me, I'm the only one who wake her up and save her!" He said trying to get up but struggled with the weight of all the blankets and Gazelle still holding him.

"Not on my watch, your staying here until I decide your fit to leave and that's that!" He said adamantly.

"As much as I…" The mayor started saying before two officers burst into the hospital room, a fox and rabbit looking exhausted.

"Mayor Lioness, we need you at city hall now!" The rabbit said quickly. "The city is in utter chaos!"

"What is going on now?" She asked exhaustedly.

"Take a listen for yourself." The fox said, taking his phone out and showing them.

_**(If our love is tragedy why are you my remedy, if our love is tragedy why are you my clarity?)**_ The song coming out was the exact same song, in perfect sync, coming out of both Gazelle's and the Mayor's phone.

"Every radio station and phone has been broadcasting this song the past hour, inter-city communications are down, and all emergency lines are being blocked. We think a hacker has taken complete control of the city's communications, leaving the city in utter chaos. Police are unable to respond to emergency calls and officers in the field can't communicate with HQ, hospitals can't receive or send out signals and emergency response teams are stranded." The rabbit said urgently, ignoring him and Gazelle and the other medical staff.

"Though whoever it is that is doing it is really good, not only hacked our phones forcing us to listen to their music but also the radio stations, short wave radios, even walkie talkies are blasting this music." The fox said with a casual wave. "Gatta hand it to em, they are thorough."

"She's not hacking!" He yelled, causing the rabbit and fox and mayor to look at him.

Silence as everyone listened while the rabbit and fox processed what they were seeing, as Gazelle had gotten most of the blankets up and was helping him to a standing position, still not letting go of his hand as she helped him up.

"Is that 'the' Gazelle?" The rabbit asked quietly.

"Who's the weird mammal?" The fox asked just as quietly.

"You said she had hacked every radio station, phone, short ranged radio and walkie talkie in town?" He asked wanting to be sure.

"Uh… yes?" The rabbit answered nervously. "Who… are you?"

"She's going through every signal she has in her database to try and contact me!" He said as he tried to take a few steps but was held back by a nurse and pushed back toward the bed. "Please, let me go… I have to save her before she runs out of time!"

"Save who, who is it your talking about?" The fox asked now.

"Aelita, I need to save her… she's doing all of that because nobody has woken her up, and I'm the only one she will listen to now!" He tried yelling but started coughing.

"Jeremy please, calm down, we'll help you but please clam down." Gazelle said.

"His name is Jeremy?"

"Gazelle knows him?"

_**(I'm living in nature… I touch, I feel, I cry… knowing that you have so so far away… surrounded in silence… believe forgive… time is running out to make it better… I hear you call... I reach out to where you are…) **__The phones all started singing in unison, and the words he heard made him listen with all his might. __**(I hear your voice… the words come from deep inside of me… I fly… this sky… in darkness, light the world with hope and belief…)**_

"Please listen, she wont stop until she either runs out of power and dies or I respond and wake her up!" He begged them. "She'll push the signal harder, she'll push the range further until someone responds to her, but the only way to respond to her now is if I go and wake her up! She's dying, she's begging me to find her, she's trying to find me! Please… let me save her, I have to save her please!"

It was Gazelle he begged now, hoping she could make them understand, and she nodded in agreement. She was the only one who could make them believe now.

"Let him go Mayor, this is something he has to do!" She said to Lioness. "Please, give him a chance, if he can save her let him try!"

The Mayor nodded and turned to the head doctor. "You heard him let him go." She stated.

"But miss mayor, we can't, in his condition if something happens and we aren't there to respond…"

"You have about ten seconds to come up with an excuse to let him out of this hospital or so help me, I will personally make sure that everyone in this hospital will know who exactly to blame when they are OUT OF A JOB!" She roared.

Turns out when he wasn't the only one being threatened, the head doctor could come up with an excuse quite fast. As Jeremy was being escorted out by Gazelle, who insisted that she be with him every step, and now the officers who had come to talk to the mayor, he had arranged for an Ambulance with medical staff and several dozen heavy blankets and defibrillators to follow Gazelle's limo if anything happened.

Because he had no clothes of his own, he was given simple clothes that barely fit him to wear and wore a hat and large coat to cover his features from mammals.

As they walked, they entered the main entrance where her four burly tiger bodyguards were still keeping the news reports and paparazzi at bay.

"Out of the way, this is an emergency!" Mayor Lioness yelled as her own guards helped push the press back so they could clear the way for them.

"Miss Mayor what's going on!"

"No Comment!"

"Miss Mayor why is every radio and phone playing the same songs!"

"No Comment!"

"Who is that Miss Mayor?"

"NO COMMENT!"

"Miss Gazelle who is that, is that your boyfriend?"

"Is he somemammal important to you?"

"Miss Gazelle is that the mammal you rescued?"

Her Tiger Guards pushed past the mammals and quickly got them into Gazelle's car, the three Tigers ran to the other side and got in the other seats and drove away quickly. Right behind them an ambulance and behind that a squad car.

"Where to miss Gazelle?"

"To the Sahara Square Deep-Ground Station!" She said, still holding Jeremy's hand as he looked at the city around him, only realizing that this was the first time he had a chance to properly look around.

The city was beautiful, it almost looked like a modern human city from before his time. The sky was beautiful as well, only a few wisps of clouds to mar the otherwise darkening blue sky that was slowly turning orange as dusk approached. He saw bits of nature here and there, trees and plant life, all looking about as foreign to him because he only ever knew of them as pictures and texts. Yet all around him life… life flourished, mammals walked on tiled floors and cemented paths, talked and gossiped and laughed…

'_It all healed… all without 'us' to help it…'_ He thought wondrously, and sadly at the same time.

"I know just take us there Moe!" Gazelle said sternly.

The Tiger 'Moe' nodded and turned down a street, followed closely by the Ambulance and the squad car.

Twenty minutes of driving later, during which the radio continued to blast song after song of Aelita singing, and they finally reached a construction site. The frame of a 'New Train Station' dominating the square building that had various construction pieces around it. The limo stopped and the Tigers hopped out and helped them out, with Jeremy limping heavily as his feet were still not used to walking.

Behind them the ambulance staff jumped out with medical tools in tow, and the squad car emptied of the Mayor and the two officers.

"Follow me Jeremy…" She said and took the lead.

Moments later news vans started swarming and pouring mammals toward them, and on que Gazelle's bodyguards turned and held their arms out to keep them from entering.

He however had eyes only for the tunnel that they entered before going to an elevator and heading deep underground.

As they descended, he felt the tiniest bit colder and shivered slightly. Instantly Gazelle had her arms around him and looking at him with a warm smile. "Don't worry, I have you Jeremy…"

He nodded in gratitude before watching the doors open up to a darkened tunnel of earth, lit up only by various lights. They entered the tunnel and the Mayor led the way, until he no longer needed her to show them the way as he recognized the outskirts of his base.

The metal was still just as pristine, if not a little dirtier being underground for all this time, as when it was first constructed.

"Miss Mayor, what is going on up there?" A mole said as they approached the entrance.

"That can wait, is everyone out of the structure?"

"Yes, for now, but why?"

"Because the original tenant is back…" She said as she stepped out of the way to reveal him.

He looked at Jeremy with a shocked expression, but Jeremy didn't care… he had something important to do. He stepped past the mole and walked down the ramp of dirt to the emergency side entrance of the base they had uncovered. He slowly walked into his old base, feeling a sense of dread as he remembered just what was waiting for him past those doors.

He took one step into the building, and stepped from the wonderful, colorful, life-filled world that he had just woken up into… and stepped back in time into the lifeless, soulless, hopeless void that was where 'he' came from.

(Gazelle's PoV)

Gazelle helped him into the base as best she could, but he let go of her hand and walked in on his own strength. She followed behind, marveling at how amazing the structure looked even buried underground, how vast it looked compared to her… until she too stepped into it.

The air felt stale and old, it felt dead and devoid of anything she knew. The walls looked lifeless to her, the cramped space making her feel trapped and confined. The lack of colors and anything resembling nature caused her to feel scared and sad.

'_How can anyone grow up in a place like this?'_ She thought sadly. _'This is worse… worse than the worst slums in Zootopia…'_

As she slowly followed Jeremy, followed by the mayor and several engineers and scientists, all she saw around her was the same bland metallic wall. Not even a hint of life could be found, not a trace of joy or love or kindness to be found.

Her heart felt terrible, imagining Jeremy living here, growing up as a child, surrounded by nothing but metal and devoid of love and life.

'_He didn't lie when he said they were desperate to survive… but this is… this is worse than I ever imagined…'_

They passed by several doors and hallways, mostly empty, each barely lit by the lights that the crews had pushed in there to light everything up. All that was revealed was the same deathless state, nothing that caused her to smile, not even one picture to help brighten the scene!

Then they entered the 'Command Center', and she could hear the song playing that was playing on all of their phones.

_**(In this fair world… there's no blood… there's no alibi… cause I've drawn regret… from the truth, of a thousand lies… so let mercy come… and wash away…. What I've done!)**_

"Good… she's still active… for how long though?" Jeremy said as he limped past the computers and turned down a hallway.

She followed behind, not liking this place anymore the longer she was there, as the more she looked made the building more lifeless and soulless than it did before. But this was still Jeremy's home, and out of respect she kept her thoughts to herself.

He walked past rooms, looked inside some before moving on.

"How do you know what Aelita looks like?" She asked.

"I don't, but I know dad would have put her in a container that we would recognize instantly!" He said before slowing down and shivering slightly.

"Jeremy are you alright?" She asked instantly, recognizing the symptoms of his disease.

"I'm fine… just… cold down here…" He said, still walking on. "I have to find her… the base won't last much longer, and if Sentinel is offline than only Aelita can turn the base over to the backup generators, and she won't do anything until she wakes up!"

It was as they passed by a room that Jeremy didn't notice that she looked in it, and saw lying in the corner, a box.

It was like a cardboard box, painted with the letters that had faded with age… yet one letter was still barely visible.

'A'

"Jeremy, what about that?" She asked.

Jeremy turned around and looked at it before rushing forward and falling to the floor in his rush. But that didn't stop him as he knelt by the box and opened it up, his eyes beaming in joy as he looked at the object inside of it.

"She's here!" He yelled, causing the Mayor and Gazelle to join him and look at 'Aelita'.

What they saw, was a glass orb sitting atop a base that had a wire connecting it to another Egg, but this egg was tiny by comparison. Yet it was glowing blue and hissing cold air as she watched it.

"That's Aelita?" She asked, pointing at the pod.

"No… 'that's' Aelita." He muttered, pointing at the glass orb.

The glass orb was not that big, barely larger than a small ball, but it clearly meant a lot to him because he picked it up and held it out of the box.

"Sorry I took so long Aelita… time to wake up now." He said as he put a hand on a small knob and flicked it.

There was silence as the orb just sat motionless in his hand, before he became nervous and started flicking it back and forth.

"Oh no… no no nononono!" He yelled as he flicked it frantically.

"What's wrong with her?" Lioness asked.

Jeremy frantically looked at the orb before turning it over and staring at the underside.

"Her battery is dead… she's been surviving by staying connected to the Cryogenic Stasis power grid!" He moaned fearfully. "She doesn't even realize I'm here!"

"Is there anything you can do?" Gazelle asked nervously, afraid of what would happen to Jeremy if he couldn't save Aelita, his last ray of hope for saving anymammal from his past.

Jeremy looked up at her before nodding in determination. "I can hook her up to the main system, if I can get her to realize I'm here, and connect her power to what's left of the power grid I can wake her up that way!"

He got up and stumbled a little as he walked past them to the command center, and put the orb on the center consoles, and started grabbing wires and plugging them into her orb.

"Come on Aelita… I know your in there!" She heard him mutter desperately.

She watched him feverishly work on the computer, trying anything he could to get it to turn on. "I need energy… just enough to get it to turn 'on'!" He said as he muttered.

"Do we have a generator we can hook up to it?" Mayor Lioness asked.

"No, we burned the last one we had." A Badger said.

"Well get one in here, and FAST!" She roared.

"Wait… would this work?" Gazelle asked, handing her phone to Jeremy which was still singing music. "If I remember, the pod you were in used our phone's energy to power itself long enough to keep you alive."

Jeremy looked at the phone held out to him before nodding and taking it from her. He plugged it in and pushed the 'on' button again. The screen lit up briefly, before starting to turn off again as whatever energy the console had taken was now being diverted. But he quickly tapped something and created a 'keyboard' of lights in front of him and a steel microphone extended upward.

"Computer, initiate power transfer controls, voice authorization Jeremy, Pod Alpha seven one seven! Confirm Action!" He declared in a loud clear voice.

The screen blinked off before blinking back into life with the words 'Confirmed' on it. Then with a speed she wished she had when texting her agent, she watched him typing on the keyboard with frantic haste and a desperate look. "Come on… come on!" He yelled.

She watched as screens flew buy, images and pictures, words she couldn't comprehend fast enough before they flew past replaced by other images and words.

However, the computer was telling him another story, as the battery life on the screen was reaching closer and closer to zero. The closer it ticked the faster he typed, desperately trying to do whatever it was to save Aelita.

Suddenly her phone stopped playing the song, as the call recorded the longest call ever had… nearly an hour and thirty-seven minutes long…

"No… not yet… come on Aelita… not now!" He screamed desperately, typing as fast as his fingers could go. "Don't give up… come on please, I'm right here, wake up!"

The screen started to dim as the power ticked once more to zero.

"No… not yet… please… don't die on me!" He pleaded. "Wake up, wake up Aelita!"

Then just as it was about to hit zero, he screamed as loudly as he could, "AELITAAAAAAAAA!"

The screen flickered off, and all around them was silence. As soon as it turned off his hands stopped moving, and his breath slowed down… and the tears began.

"No… no… no…" He gasped desperately. "Aelita… no… please… no please no… please wake up…"

Gazelle watched him shakily touch the glass orb, as if hoping it would respond to his call, and she knew that he was too late. As reality set in, his shoulders slumped, his head slumped… his tears fell but his voice wouldn't cry.

"I'm… I'm so sorry Jeremy…" Gazelle whispered sadly, unable to believe that yet again, a glimmer of hope to her friend appeared…

And was furiously ripped away from him.

"Why… why didn't I think of her sooner…" He whispered quietly. "Why didn't I think sooner… why didn't I… why… why me?"

She held him close and hugged him tight, offering all the comfort she could as his heart beat slower and slower, as if unable to comprehend just how alone it felt. But her heart beat harder, as if trying to get it to beat faster, to let it know he was not alone.

Everyone in the room felt sad for the human, and the Mayor, seeing her phone working, fired off a text before telling everyone to quietly give him and Gazelle a moment together.

She hugged him tighter as the other mammals started to back out, leaving him and her alone in a sad embrace of two hearts, seemingly only able to get through this ordeal by being together.

(Gazelle's and Jeremy's PoV)

He returned her hug, unable to think of anything else to do as the mayor and her colleagues left.

His mission was a failure, his friends and family all dead, and now the last shred of humanity's wisdom and spirit, all that made his species good was lost.

What was the point in living now?

**(Bah bah bah…)**

A light shined briefly three times, flashing different colors that caused everyone to look around.

Both Gazelle and Jeremy heard it and looked up from their tears for the source of the sound.

**(Bah bah bah…)**

Again, a light shined, this time from the orb, three times… three different colors.

They all stared at the glass ball, Jeremy praying, hoping…

"Aelita?" He whispered hopefully.

The glass sphere was silent… unmoving… before…

**(Bah bah bah…)** With each syllable a light flashed.

"Aelita!" He yelled happily, going to the mic and looking at the glass ball. "It's me, Jeremy… wake up Aelita!"

**(Bah bah bah, bah bah bah, bah bah bah!)**

"Yes, it's me, I'm right here girl, it's time to wake up now!" He said.

From around the room music started playing, and lights started to turn on.

**(Do you remember when we first said hi, beginning of time first contact we made…)** A beautiful voice sang out, just like the one singing earlier. **(I was transmitting to you, oh to you, far from the sky!)**

"Yes, I heard you girl, I've heard you all day, I'm sorry I took so long!" He cried tearfully.

Gazelle felt happy as the lights began to coalesce into an image in front of them, all around screens turned on and each showing the same picture of a beautiful field of flowers and grass, of trees and plants.

**(Meteor send messages me to you, and the winds singing your melody fine…) **It sang back just as happily, as they caught flashes of 'someone' running past them. **(What Is so amazing is that its you and by my side!)**

The images changed as visions of shapes morphed and formed, as something ran around the screens so fast, they couldn't catch a proper glimpse. They saw a small hand, a foot, a glimpse of a white gown…

**(I'll turn the stardust into snowflakes for you to feel me, and more and more nearby you… the waves will whisper to me all your secrets and your memories as deep as the blue sea…)**

Then the lights changed direction and from one of the corridors a beautiful cascade of lights began to appear, causing them all to look as colors beyond the rainbow's imaginations appeared. They spiraled together and took on the form of… a human girl. She was clad only in a white gown, barefoot and wearing nothing else, but she looked younger than Jeremy, and stood two or three feet less than he was.

**(I want you lets feel and touch, touch my cheeks like the summer breeze… I feel tingles in the air, particles me with your touch!)** She sang as she hopped and skipped toward him.

Jeremy in turn smiled and laughed as he held his hand and 'held' her as she twirled and danced around him. She was singing her joy at seeing him, at long last, neither was alone in the world. He listened to her dancing and singing, ignoring the mammals around him who were stunned and amazed, awed and loving the scene before them.

**(Touch me now, I want you to feel my touch, feel the sensation run through you…)** She sang as she let him go and danced around the command center. **(You'll always be my fresh air, beautiful, cover you, with my touch!)**

As she ran past the mammals, she waved at them and twirled as she took a leap, surprising them all as she vanished and reappeared behind them and jumped into a computer screen and appear on it as if she were running away.

**(If only we could close the distance between us… I want to walk the stardust beach, your my star!) **She sang as she ran around the screens, vanishing and reappearing in the next one. **(Come on and touch me… I want you lets feel and touch, touch my cheeks like the summer breeze… I feel tingles in the air, particles cover me with your touch!)**

As she ran past, she waved at Jeremy who smiled and waved back at her, laughing as all his sadness vanished.

**(I want you to feel my touch…)**

She looked at Gazelle and smiled happily, waving at her with joy in her face, and she waved back just as happily.

**(Feel the sensation run through you…)**

She pointed at the other mammals and waved at them, who waved back with smiles and even a few laughs.

**(You'll always be my fresh air… beautiful, cover me with your touch!)**

She held her arms open in a big hug as she spun and danced, and as she did flower petals danced with her only enhancing the joyous feeling she was giving off.

**(I want you to feel my touch… I feel tingles in the air… I want you to feel my touch… you'll always be my fresh air!)**

At long last she jumped forward but instead of appearing in the room, the glass orb lit up in a beautiful array of colors and Aelita appeared, standing in the orb smiling at all of them, but mostly looking at Jeremy.

Jeremy bent down and looked at the AI, laughing and crying as he beheld the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. His father had poured 'everything' into her creation, from her looks, to her voice, to her very thinking… she was a child… the purest form of a human child ever. Absolutely trusting, absolutely loving, caring for all around her as if they were her family and friends. All she wanted was to make them smile and laugh, to guide them to a more beautiful world that she wished to build.

"What is she?" Mayor Lioness asked with a laugh as she stepped forward and looked at the little human image in the ball.

"She's Aelita…" Jeremy whispered softly, leaning close to the ball and closing his eyes as he cried. "And she's… my father's… humanity's last gift to 'us'…"

Aelita closed her eyes and leaned as close to Jeremy as the glass ball would allow, smiling as if she were being held by a parent lovingly holding its child.

"I don't understand… you said all the other humans were gone… so what is she?" Gazelle asked.

"She's an AI… she isn't really 'alive', like I am… she only exists in the computer systems and… this portable holographic computer system." He said as he held up the sphere for them to see.

As he did, she looked around at all of the mammals, staring in awe and wonder at them.

"Hi there!" Some of them said.

She smiled and waved back, not speaking a word.

"I'm afraid she can only talk when she's singing. If she does have any words, she can only convey them in the form of song, with the exception being her own private thoughts." He said as she nodded to confirm what he said.

"That is… amazing…" Mayor Lioness said, and Aelita smiled and vanished before reappearing as a lion of earth's past.

She roared a loud roar before vanishing and returning to her human form.

"What the?" Lioness asked in confusion.

"She's saying you look like a creature from 'our' time." He chuckled, as they all did seem to resemble earth animals of the past but with a lot more stages of evolution between the two.

Aelita nodded and chuckled as well, before bowing in apology to the her.

"No offense taken little one."

Aelita nodded and turned to Gazelle before bowing and pointing at Jeremy.

"Uh… I don't understand?" Gazelle asked in confusion, not sure what she was saying.

Aelita looked sad before she smiled and took on the form of her phone, then took on the form of the console, then Jeremy, then herself and nodding with a smile.

"Oh… I see… your welcome!" She said, realizing she was saying 'thank you for giving Jeremy the energy to wake me up'.

Aelita nodded before she looked thoughtful. Then she nodded and ran to the edge of the orb and disappeared, seconds later the lights turned on and Aelita appeared in bigger form, ran over to Gazelle and proceeded to hug her.

"Uh… your welcome?" She asked, not sure what she did this time.

It was 'odd' feeling the little human ai hug her, she didn't 'feel' the hug, yet she felt the warmth… it was like she was being hugged by light, warm and there yet not 'physically' there.

Aelita looked up and frowned, before she smiled and ran to Jeremy, and tugged him toward Gazelle. Once he was close enough, she had him pushed closer, and tugged Gazelle's arm around him into a hug, then she grabbed both their free arms and completed the scene by having them hug 'her' as she hugged them back, smiling being as close as she could to them.

"I understand now… she's saying, 'thank you for saving Jeremy… you're my family just like he is now'!" He said, and Aelita confirmed by nodding happily.

Both of them blushed as she considered the two of them 'family', but regardless they smiled and nodded.

Eventually Aelita let go and jumped back into the glass orb, returning to her small form again. She assumed the image of a caged bird, then had the cage open, and the bird flew out toward the blue sky. After she gave her message, she returned normal and looked at him expectantly.

"You want to leave now huh?" He asked knowingly.

She nodded excitedly and smiled as if expecting him to say 'yes'.

"Yea… you can leave Aelita…" He muttered sadly, slowly patting her glass orb lovingly, but the tone caused her to frown in confusion and sadness. "Miss Lioness… can you take Aelita out of here?"

"What, I don't understand, what do you mean take her out of her?" She asked in confusion.

He slowly held her sphere out to her and Aelita looked at him in confusion.

"Please… take her away from this place… she doesn't deserve to stay here anymore…" He said in a dead tone. "I don't want her to stay here anymore. She was created to help us learn from our past mistakes… but there's only one human so…"

"Jeremy, but what about you?" Gazelle asked, feeling her heart growing heavy with an ache.

"There's nothing for me out there… and… I don't deserve to live in your world." He said sadly, but not as sad as Aelita looked as she listened to him. "I'm just one human… but even 'one' human can do so much damage… your world doesn't need my kind… not after what we did in the past. But Aelita… she can help you learn from our past, she can show you our history, she can help make your world better… I'd just… slow her down and… be in her way…"

He handed Aelita's sphere to Mayor Lioness who looked sadly at him as he sat down in a chair.

"It's better… I stay here… its where I came from… might as well be where I belong… until…" He whispered sadly. "I'd just be in her way… I'd just be in… your way…"

Gazelle wanted to smack him, not out of anger but of sadness. Still, he 'still' thought his life had no meaning. She was going to smack him and tell him tearfully that she 'wanted' him to live… but Aelita beat her to the punch.

A cascade of lights appeared as Aelita jumped out of her sphere, and hugged Jeremy.

**(Oceans apart… day after day… and I slowly go insane… I hear your voice… on the line…)** She sang sadly. **(But it doesn't stop the pain, if I see you next to never… how can we say forever?)**

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. **(Wherever you go… whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you! Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks… I will be right here waiting for you!)**

With that she stepped away and pointed at two screens. On one screen a picture of his father when he was old and Jeremy when he was a young child, between them… a small orb that looked like hers.

**(I took for granted… all the times… that I thought would last somehow!)** She sang sadly. **(I hear the laughter, I taste the tears… but I can't get near you now!)**

On the other screen she showed a picture of Jeremy's cryo-pod being sealed, the picture taker being Jeremy's father as he watched his son being frozen, and on a small table was her sphere, slightly larger than the last one.

**(Oh, can't you see it baby, you got me going crazy!)**

She turned and looked at him sadly.

**(Wherever you go, whatever you do… I will be right here waiting for you!)** She stepped closer and held his hand. **(Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks, I will be right here waiting for you!)**

She leaned closer and hugged his chest, smiling as she did. **(I wonder how we can survive, this 'romance', but in the end if I'm with you… I'll take the chance!)** She looked at him with a warm and smiling face as she stepped away.

**(Oh, can't you see it baby, you got me going crazy! Wherever you go, whatever you do… I will be right here waiting for you… whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks, I will be right here waiting for you!) **She sang one last time, before she turned and walked 'into' the computer consoles.** (I will be… right here waiting for you…)**

She then appeared on the screen in the middle of the two pictures, sitting down in her field of flowers with arms crossed, patiently waiting for him to decide what he wants to do.

Everyone got the message, even Jeremy. She wasn't going to leave him 'behind' because he wanted her to be free. If he would stay and live down here, then she would stay with him every second. She would wait for him to decide when he wanted to leave, and when he did, she would be right beside him.

They were together now, and she wasn't about to let them be separated easily.

Gazelle looked sadly at Jeremy, who had his eyes closed in thought. She wanted to tell him to come with her, to leave this place… but it was his home, the only home he knew, he ever had. Aelita too wanted to leave, but only if 'they' could leave together. If they weren't together, then she wouldn't leave without him.

She sighed and sat next to Jeremy, feeling the cold steel of the chair and hating this place the longer she remained again.

"Jeremy… whatever you decide… I'll help you however I can." She said warmly, holding his hand.

She leaned close and rubbed his cheek with her own, and felt her heart beating in sync with his once more.

Jeremy likewise finally accepted the choice they wanted him to make, he wasn't being given much choice.

"Alright… let's go outside Aelita!" He whispered with a chuckle. "Let's go and see what this new world is like for us!"

Aelita jumped up with a smile and ran at the screen, appearing in the room again in her full-sized form, before jumping and reemerging inside the glass sphere as her small form.

With that, he gently picked up the sphere and with Gazelle holding his hand, the Mayor leading the way, and every other mammal behind them, left the cramped, dead, colorless confines of the old world he lived in for the bright, colorful, open new world that they had both woken up to.

A human of the past, an AI with Humanity's best, and a kind Antelope of the future…

Little did they know, those two were not the only things that had 'awoken' when Aelita was transferred from the base's systems…

In a dark, dark, deep section of the base, in a room without light, a tiny stream of power was transferred into something that could not be seen…

Until a pair of red glowing eyes turned on…

**[Bark Bark!]**


	5. Chapter 5

'_You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies'_

'_lit up the world as I fell asleep, cause they fill the open air'_

'_and leave teardrops everywhere, you'd think me rude but I'd just stand downstairs'_

Chapter 5) Aelita No Harm Done Yet Done

(Jeremy's PoV)

They all left the base slowly, with Jeremy closing the door and asking them, until he and Aelita returned to restore the power grid, to not go back inside or touch any of the technology contained within. At first the Mayor was going to ask, but out of respect and understanding his deeper meaning, she accepted and told the crews to do as he wished and leave it be, instructing security to keep everyone out as usual.

Once outside Jeremy resumed his disguise to prevent the public from recognizing him or being able to identify him, but this proved 'harder' because he was carrying Aelita, who was about as inconspicuous as a block of ice in the desert. Her glass sphere stood out and her colorful lights brightened up the area around her.

The officers had left, receiving dispatch orders to return to HQ now that they had communications back up. As for the medical staff, once they checked over Jeremy and made sure he was 'alright', they too left and returned in their ambulance.

By the time they had returned to the surface it had gotten dark, and because Aelita had ceased her broadcast attempting to reach Jeremy, the city had returned to normal. However, not before her many 'songs' she had sung had gotten out. She changed her holographic image to show him that, of the fifty seven songs she had sun to get his attention, most if not all of Zootopia had heard them and at least 'half' of them had been downloaded into mammal's phones and computers and were now spreading across their version of the internet.

As they left some of the Mayor's security had informed her of the situation and officials were on her line the moment she had left the base, explaining the situation to her and demanding answers. This was what they were talking about now before they parted ways.

"This whole mess with your little friend has caused a massive problem for me, and now I have to sort it out." She explained tiredly to them. "I know it wasn't her intent, but thanks to the ruckus she caused I have dozens of officials on my tail and companies demanding to know what is going on. I'm afraid I need to ask you to lay low until things have settled down enough for me to introduce you and your friend to the public."

He nodded in understanding but Aelita, realizing the chaos she had caused with her call was looking depressed.

"It wasn't your fault Aelita, you just were trying to call for help." He said warmly, causing her to smile and nod in gratitude.

"Yes, it wasn't, but for now you need to go into hiding… which brings up the issue of 'where' to put you." She said thoughtfully. "It's too short notice to find you a small apartment or home to hide you in, and I don't want to take the risk of the public learning of you accidentally before they're ready to hear about you. I have a LOT of explaining to do and answers to come up with before I tell them about you two. If they learn that a human, a species thought that doesn't exist, suddenly 'appears' with an AI that is capable of taking over our city's communications network at the drop of a hat… there'll be panic in the streets and mobs wanting your head. The fact your base just appeared out of nowhere is crazy enough the public is just starting to get used to it, but now all this happens and… ugh I need a drink."

"So… where do 'we' go?" He asked her nervously. "Aelita and I don't want to return to the base just after we agreed to leave it. She wants to see the world, and she doesn't want to go back now that she's out at last."

The AI nodded in agreement.

"She's been in that base her whole life, and unlike me who was able to sleep through it, she's been aware of it the entire time…"

"Yes, I know, but I just can't think of somewhere for you besides maybe a hotel and just… lock the door… twenty-four seven… with no contact…" She muttered as she watched Aelita frowning at her words. "Yea bad idea…"

"Why not live with me?" Gazelle asked suddenly.

They all turned to Gazelle looking at them with a warm smile.

"You, 'you' miss Gazelle, are you sure about that?" Lioness asked. "I mean… considering your status and… your line of work and… are you sure you want… 'them' living with you?"

The way she said 'them' made him feel slightly hurt, he knew that he wasn't the shining example of humanity like Aelita was, and all day he was asking them to end his life and even tried to stay underground for what was 'left' of his life… but still, he wasn't a rabid animal that needed to be watched carefully.

Aelita on the other hand clearly didn't like being addressed as a 'them', and let her frustration show by turning away and crossing her arms in a 'hmpf!' expression.

Fortunately, Gazelle caught on to them, and unlike him and Aelita kept her warm exterior as she replied. "Mayor Lioness, my home has very good security to keep out trespassers, and my backup dancers are also my bodyguards who work to keep out paparazzi. Plus, I did say I would help Jeremy however I can, I see no trouble letting him and Aelita live with me. Besides, how often does one get to say they live with a 'legendary species' and an amazing piece of technology?" She said with a warm smile. "He's my friend, and I would love to have him live with me until he decides he wants to live on his own…"

(Aelita's PoV)

Nobody caught the tone of her words, yet Aelita, with her advanced hearing systems capable of picking up the tiniest whisper among a raging hurricane of noises, picked up on them, as she smiled warmly at Gazelle.

She looked between the two and nodded at her conclusions, based on her knowledge of the species before she returned to looking at Jeremy.

He looked down at her asking what she was grinning at, but she smiled and sat down as close as her holographic body could get to him.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"Well that settles it, if you want to take care of Jeremy, I won't stop you miss Gazelle." Lioness said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Gazelle however hid her silent dislike of the mayor at that moment, treating Jeremy and Aelita as if they were a headache and a problem, instead of as proper mammals of her city. Did she conveniently forget Jeremy's desperation to save Aelita? Did she not notice how much poor Jeremy wanted to kill himself just so he wouldn't be alone anymore? Did she also not watch the beautiful reaction that Aelita had when she finally 'woke up' to the sight of Jeremy standing there when all the others of his kind were gone, and she probably had also resigned herself to her fate like Jeremy wanted?

The AI was willing to endure life within that base if it meant she would be with Jeremy, instead of seeing the world she so wanted to see that he 'wanted' her to be a part of.

"Of course, well that settles that then, let's get going Jeremy… it's getting dark and I have to deal with George in the morning." She said, the mention of George reminding her of how much she's been putting off her work schedule just to be near Jeremy. "Oh crud, George, I promised to call him today!"

She pulled her phone out quickly, but remembered it was dead, its battery-life drained to help bring Aelita into the world.

**(Dnnnnng… Dnnnnnng…)** She looked over to Aelita who's body had turned around and assumed a sitting position and eyes were glowing.

"Wha…" She began saying before…

**(GAZELLE WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL DAY?!)** The angry voice of her agent yelled, screaming from Aelita's mouth. **(I have been trying to reach you all day, I went to your house, but you weren't there, I tried calling your number but than all that chaos happened, where have you been?!)**

"Uh… I uh… have been out!" She answered, baffled that Aelita could 'call' her agent.

**(What do you 'mean' you've 'been out'?!)** He screamed.

Then one of Aelita's eyes changed colors and a third voice spoke up.

**(Hi… this is Doctor Jeremy Goodneighbor, I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but Miss Gazelle recently suffered a throat ache and came to my clinic to get it treated. She was suffering from an early case of the flu and had to take some medicine to help stop it in its track.)** She declared in a monotone voice.

Jeremy was smiling and resisting the urge to laugh as Aelita used his words and voice to create a false doctor to speak to her agent, 'while' he was still on the line!

**(Oh… I see… I'm sorry Doctor, I didn't realize it was 'that' severe. Uh… tell her I apologize for yelling I was just… you know worried for her health!)** George said. **(Tell her I'll see her tomorrow at eleven… take care!)**

Aelita's eyes closed and returned to normal as she smiled at her.

"You can 'call' mammals on my phone list?" She asked in amazement.

"You did use your phone to help wake her up, when you did, she gained access to your phone's entire database which she probably downloaded." Jeremy said, which she nodded happily. "She can still access your communication's system even from inside the sphere, so all she did was access and make a connection between her and this 'George' fellow and used your number to make it seem like it was you."

"Wait, you said she couldn't talk outside of 'singing', then what was that?" She asked in confusion.

"Yea… she 'can't' talk outside of song… but that was a recording I used to get out of school one day… only worked once and I got in trouble for doing it." Jeremy said sheepishly. "She has recordings of a lot of things, she just changed out the gender terms and names to make it fit. I guess Aelita just wanted to help get you out of trouble for helping me and her?"

Said AI was currently giggling and playing hop-scotch, pretending as if she wasn't interested in what they were saying or had a clue they were talking.

"Well thank you very much Aelita, you're a miracle worker!"

At this Aelita smiled warmly and bowed deeply to her.

"Alright let's get going, I have a lot of work to do… thank you again Miss Gazelle." Lioness said with a bow. "I'll talk to you when I can Mr. Jeremy… and 'Miss Aelita'?"

Aelita turned and smiled warmly.

"Please don't cause any more trouble?" She asked.

Aelita looked sad but nodded, extending her hand and holding out her pinkie. Mayor Lioness not knowing the gesture, looked to Jeremy for an answer.

"It's called a 'pinkie promise', when two humans make that gesture, it means they 'promise' to do something and that they will not break it."

"Oh, I see." She said, before bending down and repeating the gesture.

Since neither could 'touch' each other, Aelita put her pinkie as close to Lioness' and nodded, signaling she had made her promise. Mayor Lioness then got up and left, leaving Gazelle and Jeremy to head toward her Limo.

"Hey uh… Gazelle… was that your… uhm… boyfriend by chance?" He asked her curiously.

At that she blushed even harder, more so because Jeremy assumed her 'agent' was her 'boyfriend'. "No George isn't my boyfriend." She replied, though a little too quickly. "He's just someone I work with."

"Oh… I'm sorry for asking…" He quickly apologized. "I just… didn't want you getting in trouble with whoever it was… because of me."

(Aelita's PoV)

She glanced up at Jeremy, hearing his words but also hearing a dozen messages, each with their own meaning underneath the ones he spoke.

She smiled softly before returning her attention to Gazelle again, the antelope having the most trust from her human, and thus receiving 'her' entire trust as well.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"Believe me, you didn't get me in trouble with anyone I was close to!" She replied with a chuckle. "He's always upset because it's his job, he just wants to make sure I stick to my schedule, and the last few days have been rather offsetting to it."

They headed to the limo in silence after that, the Tiger brothers all lounging around and talking to each other quickly stood to attention when they saw her returning.

"Alright, introductions first!" She said cheerfully. "Jeremy, Aelita… these four are my co-workers, and they also happen to work part-time for me as my bodyguards, and drivers. Their names are Franky, Donny, Moe, and Joe!"

As each Tiger's name was mentioned they waved hello with a warm smile to him and the AI. Jeremy looked a 'little' nervous at the sight of her friends, but he managed a smile and even offered to shake their hands one at a time. She noted that his hands were 'half' the size theirs were.

"Franky, Donny, Moe, Joe… this is Jeremy Wilheart, and he's the 'human' we saved that day." She said warmly. "And this, is his friend, Aelita…"

Aelita stared up in wonder at the four Tigers, who easily 'dwarfed' her, and she just waved hi to all of them one by one, who waved hello back to her.

"The two will be living with me from now on… or at least until he is ready to leave…" She said cheerfully, although the last part was muttered more to herself.

It wasn't that she wanted Jeremy to leave her as quickly as possible, she hoped he would find his own way in life as soon as possible. But she deeply liked spending time with the human so far, more for her heart's sake than anything else.

He was alone, in a world that he didn't belong to, even the AI they'd rescued only hammered the fact that he was the 'only' human left, and when he eventually…

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and beckoned everyone to prepare to leave. She stepped in first, followed by Jeremy and Aelita, and then last her friends as they soon drove off toward home.

As they did, she felt Jeremy slump slightly in his seat next to her, and she saw that his eyelids were extremely heavy. Aelita in contrast looked wide awake as she looked around the city at night, absorbing all the information she could gleam. She smiled gently at the human, it had been a tiring day, if not physically than emotionally and mentally for him.

"Are you hungry Jeremy?" She asked, not knowing if the human had eaten since waking up in that pod.

"No…" He said tiredly. "I'm just so tired…"

She nodded as she held his hand. "When we get home I'll get you setup for bed, you can sleep as soon as its ready. What about Aelita, does she need sleep?"

Both Aelita and Jeremy shook their heads, Aelita more so than Jeremy.

"She's slept for long enough…" He whispered as his head slumped a little, struggling to stay awake.

Aelita noticed Jeremy was nodding off and turned to her music and began to sing a soft and gentle tune.

_**(Little child, be not afraid… the rain pounds harsh against the glass… like an unwanted stranger… there is no danger, I am here tonight…)**_ She sang as she turned to him and placed a hand as close to his heart as she could, looking sweet and caring. _**(Little child, be not afraid… though thunder explodes and lightning flash, illuminates your tear stained face… I am here tonight, and someday you'll know… that nature is so… this same rain that draws you near me falls on rivers and land, in forests and sand… makes the beautiful world that you see… in the morning…)**_

Once more Gazelle marveled at the little AI, and she and the Tiger brothers who 'weren't' paying attention to the road turned to look and listen to the little human singing to the 'real' human. As she sang his eyes began to lose the fight to stay awake, her gentle tune and soft lullaby winning slowly as she continued to sing. Soon his eyes closed, and sleep began to take over at long last, and Aelita smiled as she leaned as close as her glass sphere would allow to him.

_**(In the morning… everything's fine in the morning, the rain will be gone in the morning… but I'll still be here in the morning…)**_ She finished with gentle hum,

Gazelle marveled at the AI, unable to believe that something so sweet could exist, but happy it 'did' exist. Without Aelita she didn't know what Jeremy would have done with himself, nearly losing her had shaken what little strength he had gained. And Aelita, for her part, knew that she meant just as much to him as he meant to her.

Jeremy was the last of humanity, she was created by humans to help them. If they died before she could help even one, her whole reason to exist would have ended, and she might not have woken up regardless of her other reasons.

"You care about him greatly, don't you?" She asked.

Aelita turned to her and nodded, before her sphere lit up and displayed a picture.

It was Jeremy as a young child, next to him was an older human that looked like his father, and between them was Aelita as she imposed herself into the picture. Her 'picture self' was laughing and smiling and holding the hands of the two humans next to her, neither human aware she was even there. The meaning was clear, without his father she wouldn't exist, without Jeremy she wouldn't have a reason to exist…

She returned to normal as she leaned next to Jeremy sleeping, but looked shocked as his hand slipped and her sphere began to roll out of his grip.

Gazelle however, was quick to react and caught her before she rolled out, and then gently pushed her back into Jeremy's grasp and cupped his hands with her own.

He looked so sweet sleeping, so rested and at peace. _'How could anyone think you are dangerous?'_

He was harmless to her, how dare the mayor even 'think' he might be a threat.

Sure, Aelita could probably cause problems if she wanted to, but the little ai child didn't seem bad.

"Rest well Jeremy…" She whispered warmly, using her free hand to push a bit of stray hair away from his eyes.

(Aelita's PoV)

She watched the exchange with eyes that saw a million subtleties in the action of a simple movement. From the words, the tone, the simple touch and everything else she saw…

She smiled, and nodded to herself…

(Gazelle's PoV)

It took half an hour of driving before they finally reached the outskirts of Savanna Central, and thankfully traffic had been light. They soon drove into her home's driveway, and from there Franky helped carry Jeremy into the house and up to her bedroom. She insisted that he sleep in her room so that if something happens during the night, namely involving his Cryogenetic Sclerosis, she could help him quickly.

When it came to the matter of 'where' he would sleep, she and the Tiger brothers had quite the debate over that. She was willing to let him sleep in her bed, but it took half an hour of talking to them to agree that, it wouldn't be 'appropriate' for Jeremy to sleep 'with' her in her bed, especially his first night there.

As a compromise, they pulled out spare blankets and laid them down on the floor as close to her bed as possible, and Jeremy would sleep on the blankets, 'with' an electric blanket plugged in to keep him warm and comfortable. She placed a pillow for him under his head and with that, they bade each other good night, with the brothers leaving for the night and her going around making sure everything was off.

With that done she dressed into her nightgown and laid down in her bed, turning toward Jeremy and Aelita where he was sleeping, and her watching him sleep. The AI watched him breathing with a content look on her face, sitting down cross legged and apparently humming a tune to herself that nobody else could hear.

"Aelita?" She asked, and the girl looked up at her warmly. "What is it like… being… whatever you are?"

Aelita looked thoughtful before she scrunched her face in concentration… and her glass sphere erupted beams of light that hit her ceiling. On the wall above her she stared as Aelita created a beautiful image of drop of water, and inside that drop of water... a picture showing a family of humans, all smiling and waving on a sunny beach.

Then the drop of water fell into an ocean, the image vanishing as the water vanished into the deep blue ocean water…

This made her frown sadly as she thought that such a lovely, beautiful image was erased, she was liking it because it showed something she was beginning to wonder about Jeremy's past, wondering if it had any colorful love or kindness to it to contrast the cold, death-like world of the base he had grown up in.

That was until pictures started to appear, slowly… then more rapidly, each one showing a beautiful scene, each more beautiful than the last.

A small human, a child, falling down a slide.

The sun setting before a forest setting.

Two humans, male and female, hugging each other in formal clothes.

A beautiful home with a colorful garden of flowers.

A pair of birds taking flight over a lake…

More and more images, each one showing the 'best' of humanity, images that showed their greatest quality, all that made them good, each one giving her awe and wonder as she could only fathom the love and joy their world must have had at one point. Yet the colorful display didn't end, as the pictures coalesced into a single leaf that seemed to be made up of 'thousands' of these images, each representing a memory, a piece of the past, a part of Humanity itself. But that one leaf was not alone as it shrank to reveal another leaf next to it, and each leaf glistened with tiny droplets of water that shined and glimmered, sparkled and made her look on in awe at the vision Aelita was showing her.

But still she was not done, as the leaves shrank to reveal more leaves, each leaf connected to a thin, tiny branch, and as 'it' shrank it was revealed to be connected to a larger branch, with multiple thin tiny branches connected to it, each with their own leaves and each leaf sparkling like diamonds every few seconds.

_**(I'm living in nature…)**_ She sang quietly, so as not to disturb Jeremy's rest. _**(I touch, I feel I cry…)**_

As the larger branch shrank 'it' revealed to be connected to an even larger, thicker branch that had multiple branches each with their own collection of leaves that blocked her vision of everything else.

_**(Knowing that you have gone so, so far away… surrounded in silence…)**_

Then the branches shrank to reveal a collection of branches, clusters of leaves that looked like massive bushes but was actually a tree that, as she watched shrank to reveal its massive size…

_**(Believe, forgive… time is running out to make it better… I hear you call… I reach out to where you are…)**_ She sang mournfully as the tree expanded, with large massive branches extending far beyond what she could fathom as the tree continued to reveal its extreme size, as to compare it the 'moon' was revealed to be overlooking it, and the tree was probably 'half' the size of the moon itself. _**(I hear your voice… the words come from deep inside of me… I fly… this sky…. In darkness, light the world with hope and belief…)**_

At last the tree stopped shrinking and instead the angle she was looking at the tree changed, to reveal it sitting in a vast… vast… 'vast' ocean of beautiful water that glistened like stars in the sky, and each sparkle was adding to the tree's beauty as she comprehended just 'what' Aelita was telling her.

Each drop of water contained a tiny, tiny speck of humanity. But those tiny specks together formed an ocean that she, 'Aelita', was connected to as she represented herself as the tree which fed on that water, and she in turn nurtured and protected humanity's wisdom and culture. All that they were… she was… all that made 'them' good, made her good.

**(I fly to you… overflowing… all my feelings here, the garden of love… we're together… I'm here for you…)** Aelita sang lovingly, not just of humanity but of her love 'for' humanity and all that made it good. **(I was standing in brightness, I saw you… and felt you smile… believing you and I are always forever… connecting our vision… voice sighs in peace…)**

As she did the image of the tree began to brighten up and colorful displays of light sparkled on each of the leaves, causing a scene reminiscent of fireworks displays on New Year's Night. The tiny specks of light in the water, began to sparkle and drift ever slowly toward the tree, and the tree shook gently as leaves fell off to be absorbed by the water below.

**(Singing colors are reaching out to us, clear our minds… we are inseparable… clear our eyes, nothings real until I touch you… I fly this sky in darkness, light the world with hope and belief… I fly to you… overflowing… all my feelings here the garden of love…)**

As she watched, of all the lights created by the sparkles of water surrounding the tree and on the tree itself… she saw a bright sparkle, brighter than all the others sparkling above the tree that caused her to wonder what it was that made 'that' speckle of light so much brighter, and as she wondered Aelita answered her question by zooming closer to the speck.

Soon her answer was given, as she saw a single tiny drop of water, kept nestled in a small bundle of leaves, and in that drop of water… an image of Jeremy, and next to that picture a 'selfie' Gazelle had taken of herself during a party after her first successful concert.

**(We're together… I'm here for you…)**

With that Aelita's show had ended, and the lights dimmed to return her to normal. But Gazelle could only think to ask more questions, what was it like having all of that knowledge, and all of that to herself. "I can see why he wanted you to leave more than himself…" She whispered silently. "That was beautiful Aelita… thank you for telling me."

Aelita nodded with a smile on her face, happy to demonstrate just what she was to the antelope.

"But why was 'I' there with Jeremy?" She whispered curiously.

Aelita grinned and giggled, before pointing at Gazelle with one hand, clapping her hands together and holding them below her head. Then pointing at the clock nearby. She looked and saw it was almost midnight, that display of colors and light and song had taken Aelita nearly half an hour to show!

"Okay I get it, go to sleep, but please tell me, why was I there, if you have all of humanity's knowledge why am 'I' in there when no other mammal is there?" She asked hopefully.

Aelita grinned before shaking her head and pointing again at the clock.

"Alright… if you say so…" She whispered before turning over and closing her eyes. "Told to go to bed in my own home by a guest."

Aelita giggled at that response.

(Jeremy's PoV)

Jeremy had feigned sleep as he heard Aelita sing the first note, and looked up at the ceiling with half open eyes to watch Aelita display, in her own image, what 'she' was…

He smiled as Aelita showed off for Gazelle exactly what she was like to humans and what their world was like during their golden times.

He had to admit, dad did a very good job with her programming, and more importantly the entire database she had access to regarding her stored knowledge.

When he heard Gazelle starting to sleep softly, he turned and looked at Aelita who was watching him with a knowing smile. She'd known the entire time that he was awake.

"Aelita…" He whispered.

She nodded.

"Would you really have not woken up… if I died?" He whispered to her. "Even if 'they' managed to wake you up, would you really have preferred to stay asleep and… died just so you wouldn't be without me?"

Aelita still smiled but her smile held a sad expression, but she nodded yes, she would have done just that.

"That's not a good thought to have…" He commented.

She shook her head in agreement, still smiling sadly.

"Aelita, why was Gazelle next to me in that last image you showed? Why is she so special to you?" He asked. "You wouldn't have stored her image in your 'active memory core' unless… unless she was important to you."

Aelita smiled warmly before shaking her head, telling him that she wasn't going to tell him either. Then she watched him fall asleep, content to continue observing him throughout the night.

Many hours later he felt the warm sunlight waking him up, and Aelita humming a tune as she waited for him to fully wake up. When he did, he slowly sat up and wearily rubbed his eyes. After his first good night's sleep since waking up he started to stretch his muscles and limbs as best he could.

"Good morning Aelita!" He said, and she responded with a friendly wave.

He looked around and saw that Gazelle's bed had been made, remembering that he was in 'her' room he looked around to see if she was there but saw that she wasn't.

"What's the time?" He asked.

Aelita pointed at the clock and he saw, to his surprise, that it was past eleven in the morning. He had slept in all morning!

"Do you know where Gazelle is?"

She shook her head and shrugged.

Deciding to go look for his host he got up and quickly straightened up his makeshift bed, straightened his clothes as best he could and carried Aelita's glass sphere in his hands so he could go look for her. He left the bedroom and saw he was on the second floor of a very roomy house, with soft carpets and pictures of various plants and scenery lining some of the walls. He looked at the rooms, knocking on each one and waiting for a response before opening them.

The rooms he found quickly were the bathroom, a walk-in closet with rows upon rows of clothes (clearly for Gazelle), storage rooms filled with a few boxes, and eventually a staircase that led downstairs. The downstairs room was a giant opened room that was both Kitchen and Living Room, mirroring ancient human homes of the past, particularly the rich and glamorous looking ones that were owned by millionaires or celebrities.

"She must be important to be able to afford all of this…" He muttered as he saw just how open the room felt.

Aelita nodded in agreement as she looked at all the space around her.

They looked around the living room but saw no sign of Gazelle, but they did notice that all the windows and doors had blindfolds down, blocking the view outside, obviously to prevent the 'paparazzi' and prying eyes from looking inside. As they entered the kitchen portion of the room, they found a bowl of steaming soup sitting atop a small heater with a note next to it. Placing Aelita's sphere down he picked up the note and read it.

"_Dear Jeremy, _

_I'm sorry I didn't wake you for breakfast, but you looked so fast asleep and so peaceful that I didn't want to disturb you. Aelita too didn't seem to want me to bother you, so I let you sleep. I'm really really sorry I can't be there to greet you when you wake up but, I had to go and run some errands and meet with somemammal about some things. I did make you breakfast, and I left the bowl-heater on so that when you wake up you can have a warm meal. I didn't know what you ate, and Aelita didn't want to tell me, so I just made a simple soup that I hope you like._

_P.S. please do not go outside if at all possible, at least for now. I promise that as soon as I can, I will happily take you outside and we can explore Zootopia! In the meantime, enjoy my home and all it has to offer, just don't make a mess~!_

_Sincerely, Gazelle"_

He loved how beautiful her handwriting was, obviously having taken a long time to perfect it. He wasn't even going to compare his own skills to hers, as he only knew how to write 'basic' when compared to her fancy cursive skills. He was however grateful to Gazelle that she had thought about him so much, going so far as to make him food and keep it warm, pulling down shades to keep him hidden and even letting him sleep in her room until 'he' was ready.

A sudden thought came to him as he looked at Aelita. "She didn't, 'change' in her room while I slept, did she?"

Aelita smiled and shook her head.

"Good, I can only imagine how awkward that would be if I woke up when she was." He whispered.

Aelita giggled in response as he took the bowl and prepared to eat.

"Oh yea, sure, you can laugh… you're not the one who has to ever worry about privacy!" He teased.

Aelita just laughed at that as she tumbled around in her sphere, laughing at the pretend image of Gazelle being naked while picking out clothes to wear and suddenly Jeremy wakes up and sees her when she thinks he's asleep. While she laughed at her illusion, he ate his soup and felt its warmth seep into his stomach and body.

Oh, that first bite… that first taste of someone's homecooked meal was heavenly to him. It's warmth just seeped into his body and made him feel so comfortable and happy. His stomach started growling as it demanded more of this wonderful food, not even realizing that the flavor, the wonderful flavor of so many different vegetables and tiny pieces of fruit layered throughout the soup, on top of the few spices added to it…

He quickly began to scarf it down as fast as he could, not realizing how long it has been since he's had a proper meal.

"It tastes so wonderful…" He whispered, causing Aelita to stop laughing and watch him, smiling happily as he slowed down his eating to enjoy the food. "I haven't had… 'food'… ever…"

The realization that he hadn't had a proper meal 'ever', as in, real food cooked with ingredients and not a messy paste slopped onto a plate that was all he's ever had during his time in the base hit him hard. The fact that Gazelle had taken her time to make this for him, for herself 'and' him…

"How can we ever repay her?" He asked his friend.

Aelita frowned as she put her hand to her chin, thinking to herself alongside him. Unable to come up with something instantly he returned to eating his food. While he ate, he continued to think of how he could 'ever' hope to repay Gazelle for all she's done, but what could he do?

He had at least a 'few' skills but most of them were related to technician and medical, and none of them were 'useable' in this world, especially while he was stuck hiding in her house.

"What do I do with myself?" He asked himself as he finished the last spoonful of food, she'd made for him.

He got up and took the bowl and spoon, cleaned the dishes and neatly stacked them. He looked for the pots or pans or whatever she had used to make dinner, but she'd already gone ahead and cleaned them, leaving him without even 'that' kindness to repay her. Sighing he flicked off the bowl heater, rolled it up and placed it in a slot in the counter that was empty. All the time Aelita watched him, learning and understanding what she could as she had nothing else to do.

"We just… have no purpose in this world…" He muttered to her as he picked her up and walked to the couch to sit down. "What do we do Aelita… what 'can' we do?"

Aelita looked up at him with a thoughtful expression before shrugging and leaning back against her sphere again.

"Yea, you can shrug all you want because you can teach everyone about humans… but what about me… everything I'd trained and prepared to do when I woke up is gone. All that's left is the base… and maybe restoring full power to it, repairing a few systems and accessing its database to let them explore the information. But after that, what do I do?"

He sighed as he held her close.

"Get a job, work until I die… not exactly what I'd call a… glorious last light of humankind." He muttered. "We'll think of something Aelita… there has to be a reason for me to be here… some reason, any reason! There has to be 'something' I can do."

Aelita nodded confidently before she looked at the large television screen hanging on the wall. She tilted her head and the screen turned on, and several channels flickered past as she began searching for something.

"Aelita don't do that, its rude to access someone's computer without permission, even if its only a viewing screen!" He chided her.

She nodded but pointed at the screen as she showed what she was searching for.

It was a news station, ZNN as it was called, and it was just announcing a 'developing story'.

**[Developing Story]**

"_Welcome back viewers to ZNN, today we continue our coverage on yesterday's 'Radio Hacking' that struck all of Zootopia and the surrounding countryside. With more on this we bring you Janette Badgette with the story… Janette?"_

"_Thanks, Panpan. Yesterday at precisely six thirty-seven pm, every radio station and phone company experienced a simultaneous cyberattack without warning and without any way to counter it. The attack ran for a total of an hour and forty-two minutes total, during which all radio stations and phones blasted the same series of 'songs' in perfect sync, as it didn't matter the distance or location of any receiving device."_

The screen showed various devices and recorded snippets of the songs playing.

"_What was more shocking as to the extent of this cyberattack, was that not only were radios and phones attacked, but all forms of communications, only television networks and online video players were not affected. This caused trouble as emergency response numbers and frequencies were also attacked, resulting in mass delays to emergencies that developed during the near two hours communications were shut down. Thankfully no mammals were seriously harmed, and only minor injuries ensued because of the attacks though none of them were caused directly by it."_

"_While the attack 'did' disrupt all forms of communication between phones, radio frequencies, and even short ranged radios, officials have yet to confirm the identity or the intent behind the attack. As right after the signal ended, all communications were restored to normal, and there appears to have been no signs of tampering. Whatever caused this, or indeed whoever the mammal was that was responsible for this, carried out the greatest cyberattack of our generation, but left not a trace of their existence or even that they did the act. In one official's words, it was as if the whole attack had another purpose behind it!"_

"_And on that topic, many mammals that were on and listening to the radio on their computers recorded the songs, and these songs have been spreading throughout the interweb since the first minute the attack began. The songs vary in length, tone, and wording but each one was sung by the same mammal. Weirdly enough, the songs themselves seemed to be conveying messages, as many of them frequently used the words that referred to a mammal in the second or third perspective, not addressing them by name but by their gender."_

"_Conspiracy theories have spread like wildfire, as some believe that the attack was just a massive message to a single mammal, the message itself asking them to 'find me' and 'save me'. We have a clip of one song, which we'll play for you now, take a listen…"_

_**(I have changed… I have changed, just like you, just like you… for how long, for how long must I wait I know there's something wrong… your concrete heart isn't beating, and I've tried to… make it come alive! No shadows, just red lights now I'm here to rescue you oh…)**_ Aelita's voice sang out on the television, her sad and desperate plea from the day before playing for him to hear. _**(Oh, I'm still alive… I'm still alive but can not apologize, no… oh I'm still alive, I'm still alive but can not apologize no…)**_

"_Truly captivating as many have called in, once phone lines were working again, asking for the beautiful singer's name and who it was that wrote the songs. Radio Stations have been attempting to capitalize on the sudden popularity of this 'mystery singer', trying to figure out who they are and offering the singer contracts and deals."_

"_With this hacking incident you'd think it was a publicity stunt with how popular this mammal is!"_

"_Indeed, the mayor on the other paw, has recently given a press conference to explain a few things on this subject. We now turn to the segment that talks about the hacker."_

The news anchors were replaced by Mayor Lioness as she stood before reporters and camera crews.

"_As of this moment we cannot confirm or deny the identity of the cyber attacker, nor can we confirm or deny if this attack is in any way related to the appearance of the non-mammal made structure recently discovered beneath Zootopia. However, I can confirm that, despite the sudden cyberattack, there was no damage done or intent to do damage to any mammal or even to our communications networks."_

"_The mayor refused to comment or talk about her 'no comment' tangent when she was leaving a hospital nearly an hour after the Cyber Attack began, walking ahead of a train of mammals including one who was covered from head to hoof and-"_

Aelita had changed the channel to where it was before and shut the tv off.

Jeremy thought about what he'd just seen and realized he and Aelita were having a bad influence on this world, he could only wonder how long the public would stay calm before they started 'demanding' the truth. And once the two of them were known…

"Well at least 'you' can get a singing contract when they realize you're the mystery singer."

Aelita smiled but leaned against him in her glass sphere, not showing interest in being a pop singer.

"We need to let them know about us soon, despite what Mayor Lioness says… the longer we take, the worse it will be. They deserve to know who we are, what we can do and… decide for themselves what to do with us."

She smiled sadly as she nodded in agreement.


	6. Chapter 6

'_I used to rule the world'_

'_Seas would rise when I gave the word'_

'_Now in the morning I sleep alone'_

'_Sweep the streets I used to own'_

Chapter 6) One Small Step

(Jeremy's PoV)

It was many hours later as Jeremy and Aelita just sat talking to each other, with Jeremy doing most of the talking and Aelita simply nodding or shaking her head in agreement or disagreement. He wanted to help repay Gazelle back for all she's done for him, but neither were really able to come up with an idea.

Her house seemed spotless and its technology was in good shape, so there was nothing that needed repair. He didn't want to touch anything for fear that, even though she said 'enjoy her home' he was still afraid of damaging or ruining something. He couldn't leave the house 'yet' because the mayor asked him to stay hidden and for Aelita to not cause troubles until mammals were ready to hear about them, but both knew they had to go out and let themselves be known soon.

A part of him had even contemplated just going out and trying to find his way back to the base so he could go and do 'something', but Aelita told him no. It took her a while to convey her message, but eventually she told him that 'without first doing something positive to outweigh our previous negative actions, we would do more harm than good by revealing ourselves'. When he asked her what he could do, she simply shrugged and continued to sit in her sphere.

"So just keep waiting until something comes up that we can affect, and then try to act on it?" He asked her at long last.

She nodded with a smile.

"Well who knows how long that can take." He muttered to himself.

She nodded in agreement.

"Not exactly helping me right now Aelita." He deadpanned.

She shrugged with an 'what do you want from me' expression. Then she changed her body to resemble a compass, then back to herself with a nod, before becoming a map and back to herself with a shake of her head.

"I know, you were programmed to guide our moral decisions, not our actual decisions." He said with a sigh.

Once again Aelita nodded as the door opened up behind them.

"What was that Jeremy?" Gazelle asked tiredly as she walked in. "Phew, what a day…"

He turned around to see her walking in through the front door looking exhausted and carrying a bag of what looked like groceries. As she did, she stepped out of her footwear, or 'hoofwear', and proceeded to walk towards the kitchen.

"Oh, nothing I was just talking to Aelita." He said as he got up to go and see if she needed help. "Do you want any help with that?"

"I would love some!" She said with a smile as she put the bag on the table.

For the next ten minutes he and Gazelle put away the groceries she had bought, watched by Aelita who couldn't help, opted to hum a tune for them to listen to while they went about their business.

"I'm sorry again for this morning Jeremy." She said as she put away some canned foods in the drawers. "I really wanted to wake you up for breakfast, but your little friend insisted I let you sleep."

Aelita chuckled at that statement.

"She is programmed to have everyone's best interests at heart, so naturally she would rather I slept until I was fully ready to wake up." He replied as he handed her cans. "So, was today just 'grocery shopping' day?"

"Oh no, I just decided to go get more food since I'm now feeding for two!"

At hearing that he paused in grabbing food to hand to her, before slowly resuming. "Listen, miss Gazelle… about me and Aelita staying here…"

"Don't even think about it Jeremy.!" She said, turning to look at him with a warm smile. "You were wondering how you two can repay me right?"

He was surprised she could guess what he and Aelita were thinking but nodded to answer her question.

"Don't worry about how you could possibly repay me, as far as I'm concerned, my home is your home." She said. "Though, I am curious about you and Aelita. What is she, and why is she so attached to you? She acts very differently than what you said she would."

He figured that she would ask about Aelita, who was also acting like she hadn't a care in the world as she sat in her sphere nodding her head to the tune she was still humming. He waited until they had finished putting away the food before he started to explain what Aelita was, and why she acted the way she did.

"Aelita, as I said, is the collected wisdom, knowledge, and experience of Humanity and nearly three centuries worth of our culture as a species." He explained as she once more demonstrated who she was by creating the beautiful image of a tree in her sphere. "Her primary function, based on my father's programming, was to help guide later humans after… well… after we all woke up by acting as their 'moral compass'. She would help guide us toward a better future by steering us away from making past mistakes and learning of the mistakes made in the past."

"Dad referred to this, 'moral guidance' in Aelita's programming as, the 'Wisdom of Humanity'." He said. "At any time, for any situation, for any moral dilemma or decision that any human may face, she would help guide our actions by trying to steer us to as 'ideal' an outcome as she can possibly come up with. Even if, for any reason, all humans died when she woke up by whatever the next species that comes after us who discovers her, she would still act as 'their' moral compass, by showing them our history, what we were, and the mistakes we made."

Aelita returned to her normal form and nodded to everything he said.

"That's amazing…" Gazelle said as Aelita sat as close to Jeremy as she could. "She's like a mini conscience you can talk to whenever you want."

Aelita nodded in perfect agreement with that statement, she did indeed act like Jeremy's personal conscience.

"But why is she so attached to you?"

"That's a little harder to explain…" He muttered as Aelita looked up at him. "Best explanation I can give is, since my father was the one who created her, and since I was there for her early development before I was frozen… she just is attached to me."

She shrugged at his explanation and just returned to looking content as she sat close to him in her sphere.

They both sat in silence, Gazelle absorbing this new information about her guests and Jeremy thinking about Aelita and their future. "So, uh… is there… anything else you wanted to ask me?" He asked her.

"Uh, sure… uhm… what do you eat?" She asked curiously. "Was what I made earlier good?"

"Well… the soup you made earlier was delicious." He said casually.

Aelita got his attention by shining her light and looked up at him with a disappointed look.

"What?"

She tilted her head and looked at him with an 'and?' expression on her face.

"What is it?" Gazelle asked with a chuckle.

"Nothing." He said.

Aelita nodded at the antelope with a grin before holding up five fingers, and slowly started counting down from there.

"Alright, alright…" He said. "It was the most delicious meal I've ever… ever had, in my entire life."

"Oh, you flatter me Jeremy, it was just a simple wheat, vegetable, and orange themed soup with a hint of pineapple sauce." She said with a giggle.

"But it was still the most delicious I've ever had… I've never had 'food' before, or at least… a home cooked meal." He said sadly.

This caused Gazelle to stop giggling as his words cut deep into her. Without notice he felt her grip his hand and look at him with a worried smile. "What was it like… growing up for you?" She asked. "What was life like… growing up in… your time?"

"It's not a pleasant picture." He muttered.

He felt her tighten her grip on his hand, gently though, making it known to him that she wasn't going to force him if he truly didn't want to tell.

"I'm willing to listen, if you want to share that is…" She said warmly.

Aelita looked sadly between Jeremy and Gazelle, the former of the two not really interested in sharing the story, but considering he and Aelita were essentially being given free room and board just for 'existing', he felt she ought to have her curiosity answered. He glanced down at Aelita who nodded in silent understanding and agreement, she 'deserved' to know at least that much for letting them stay there.

"Growing up in the base was, very different than life on the surface." He said. "In school we were taught that, the surface had been scarred and damaged by the endless barrages of fusion based missiles and WMD's, that any human on the surface would be suffering radiation poison and extensive skin and muscle damage. That was of course, 'if' they weren't already being killed by biological weapons deployed in the early days of the final war."

As he spoke, he felt the world around him, Gazelle's home and herself fade away, replaced by images of the past.

"I only ever visited the surface a few times with dad during my childhood, but each time I did the only thing I saw were ruins and wasteland. Even venturing out for days, I had never even seen a single green tree or spot of green. The sky was grey, almost like an endless cloud had covered the earth's entirety. The sun was a rare sight, and the moon looked like a ghost to me. The few rivers or lakes that weren't lost, were greener than anything I'd ever seen."

"The few surviving humans across the world had all agreed after the war ended, to put all past identities aside and work together to try and 'save' our planet, but it was too late. Radiation sickness and disease was running rampant, and the harder we tried, the more we died in our vain attempts to save our world. My mother died in one of the former hot zones, where radiation was heaviest from bombings, trying to repair the damage and reduce the radiation with new technology developed to help clean it up. She and sixteen others from our base died trying to secure us a source of clean drinking water, but even their sacrifice was pointless, as the water they 'cleaned' at the cost of their health and lives… would only last our base two weeks."

"Before the war there had been attempts to reach deeper into space, but greedy corporations stifled such projects because 'business practices' demanded they try and turn as much a profit as possible. As resources became scarcer and scarcer, the attempts to leave our planet became less and less, until the only things remaining in space were unmanned satellites."

"Medical science and technology developed as rapidly as it could to help us, since we no longer devoted our resources to military… but it still wasn't fast enough to keep up with the death rate. For every human they managed to save, a hundred died of sickness trying to wait for treatment. Even radical decisions were taken, and steps made to try and save as many as possible, but it still wasn't enough."

"Despite everyone working together, those within the bases, the 'healthy elites' as we were known, were looked down upon by those not fortunate enough to be near our 'Eden Facilities'. Even the name betrayed what lay inside, as despite our advances we couldn't produce enough 'clean food' to feed everyone. In a desperate hope, all food options were removed and erased, to be replaced by a single food paste which contained all the proteins, vitamins and minerals our bodies would need to survive. This solved our food shortage and allowed us to feed more… if only extending our life line slightly longer."

"Since every human was needed to help save our species and our world, high education became mandatory, and every child was expected to attend. We were taught medical and technical sciences, learned about history and philosophy as well as morality… but art was something that just couldn't be spared. There was just no room for artists and culture, in a world where saving your neighbor's life was more important. There weren't any crayons for us to draw with, no colorful paints to use, and the only form of culture we got were recordings of the past and virtual reality headsets that showed us what the world looked like before."

"Most of my life was spent underground, the only times I could leave was with my dad when he went to repair equipment up top. As I grew older and learned all the skills I did, I walked up top less and less, preferring to spend more time tinkering with the automatons and repurposing them."

"When it came time for our final desperate solution, each of the seventeen Eden Facility bases, chose one thousand people within its population to be frozen. Each of them was chosen for their technical, medical, and moral knowledge and reasoning. Apparently, me tampering with some of our automatons and redesigning them to make them 'non-lethal' and to help with attempting to repair our world with some of my classmates, was enough for them to pick us."

"When I turned twenty-four, I was told to prepare for Cryogenic Stasis, we all went over the manual and lessons, the risks, how the process would go, and what we were expected to do when we woke up. During that time, Dad was just finishing up Aelita's most basic program. The first time he introduced me to her was as a child, she was just a facial recognition program back then. Before I was frozen, she had evolved in programming to be capable of learning and identifying optimal choices based on experience and evidence in her database."

"That was also the last time I saw my father, and anyone else from my home. The next time I would see Aelita, as you saw, she had integrated all human knowledge, culture, and history as well as billions upon billions of hypothetical solutions to an equal number of moral and ethical dilemmas. All of this so she could guide humans to not make the mistakes of our past."

"The base, for only offering the basic needs to sustain our people, only offering us the necessities to keep our species alive… for giving us a chance to survive… as stifling and cramped as it felt and how little 'life' felt like in there… it was still my home. When I went to sleep, I only wanted to help rebuild and repair the damage done to our planet, as my dad often said would fall upon my generation's shoulders… to repair the damage of past generations. Those left behind, knew they were going to die 'eventually', so they devoted what was left of their life to keeping the bases maintained and ensuring the stasis pods would last as long as possible, giving us the best chance to survive."

He breathed in deep and held Aelita close to him, as the world around him returned. "It wasn't a fun life growing up, but it was all I knew, there were no homes like what you have here, refugee camps were spread across the world with people trying to survive. Try as we might, the more we tried to help the harder life became for the rest. We tried to correct our mistakes, but it was just too late…"

"I can only imagine how sad it was for you." Gazelle said, looking at him with a forlorn look. "I can only imagine… just how much… this all is to you. To me it's just my home, my place where I come to every day and relax, rest, zone out from the world around me… but for you its… it must seem like paradise by comparison."

He nodded as he glanced around, it was indeed paradise here for him. All the space, pictures of art and colorful walls with comforts of leisure. He only ever saw this kind of home in pictures and holograms, showing him of what life was like in the past. Seeing the sun was practically a luxury that he and his dad could only enjoy while helping repair equipment on the surface, but even then the sky would ruin the sun's image with how grey and cloudy it was at times.

Even weeds were considered a 'precious item of trade', as he remembered bartering for a potted weed and giving up the two bottles of clean water he had for it.

"You have a nice house by the way…" He said, trying to change the subject. "What do you do for a living?"

"Oh me, well I'm a singer and part time model for some magazines here in Zootopia." Gazelle said, nonchalantly looking around. "You could call me a 'pop idol', I do concerts on occasion, record albums, maybe dance and sing for music videos. When I'm not doing that occasionally I sometimes model for fashions and outfits for magazines, whatever it is that George has me scheduled for. Oh… uh, George is my agent, in case you were wondering!"

Jeremy thought that made a lot of sense. "We figured it was something like that." He said. "The note you left us had very beautiful handwriting."

"Why thank you for the compliment Jeremy." She said with a giggle.

Realizing why she was giggling, he blushed and tried to change topic. "Uh, is there… anything else you wanted to ask about me?"

Aelita just smiled as she swayed in her glass sphere, clearly enjoying the conversation.

(Gazelle's PoV)

She laughed inwardly at Jeremy's embarrassment for complimenting her handwriting, but she decided to humor him and change the subject.

"Tell me more about Aelita, what did she do when she was asleep? Was it anything like when 'we' sleep?" She asked.

At that the AI no longer looked 'happy' and instead looked sad, which she quickly noticed.

"What's wrong, was it something I said?"

"Aelita doesn't experience 'sleep' like you and me would." He said slowly. "When she goes to sleep, she essentially enters her own reality to endure the passage of time. Unlike you and I, when we sleep time just melts away and we are only aware of the time we're awake. But for her when she sleeps, she just appears in own her world and remains aware of the passage of time, every second of every minute, of every hour and every day."

She looked down at Aelita who had curled in on herself, looking extremely depressed.

"So… when 'you' went to sleep... I mean, when you were frozen?" She asked.

"One minute I'm feeling myself drifting off to slumber land, and then the next I'm 'aware' that I'm waking up." He answered. "But for her, when she went to sleep, she had to endure every second of our time underground… alone without anyone to talk to."

She noticed Jeremy stroking the glass sphere with one finger and saw that Aelita was leaning as close as she could to him and holding the side of that sphere with her hands, trying to stave off her sadness at what he was explaining.

"So that's why she was singing when we woke her up, she wasn't just 'happy' to see you, she was happy to talk to someone after… so long." Gazelle said as she gently touched the sphere as well. "You poor thing, you were so lonely down there."

Aelita looked up at her and nodded, she had been very lonely.

"What did you do… how did you endure all that time?"

Aelita frowned as she raised a hand and had her sphere create a beautiful light display on her ceiling again. Above them she showed her alone, in an endless field of grass and flowers, with petals flowing around her. She had two hands resting on two 'eggs', one larger than the other, and her mouth was moving, indicating she was singing to the two eggs.

"You spent all that time just singing to two eggs?"

The AI returned to normal and nodded sadly, before using her arms to mirror the actions of a clock, saying that she did that all day.

"One egg was obviously mine, and the other I'm guessing was something else?" He asked.

Aelita nodded and changed form, taking on that of a seed.

"A seed, there's still a seed down there?" Gazelle asked suddenly. "Shouldn't we get it, if it was important to be frozen then…"

"It's alright, the pod is still active and drawing power, and because I swapped over the backup generator alongside Aelita, the base is now maintaining the remaining stasis pod." He said. "Until we go back and fully transfer the controls of the base to make repairs, it will continue to function as it did before, devoting all power to the cryostasis pods that are active."

"But what is the seed, what did your father leave with Aelita?"

Jeremy and Aelita shrugged in response.

"Dad never mentioned a seed to me; did he ever tell you?"

She nodded her head, before changing appearance and taking on a ball of white light. _**(All the magic of creation, exists within a single tiny seed!)**_ She declared in a gentle, calm voice, before returning to normal.

"He told you that to tell us?"

She nodded yes.

"It must have been important then, we'll leave it in the pod until we can do something with it." He said to which Aelita nodded in agreement.

Suddenly a loud growl erupted from the human's stomach, causing her to raise her eye in amazement that it could be so vocal and Jeremy to blush in embarrassment. Aelita grinned at the sudden declaration of her partner's needs, suppressing the urge to laugh inside her sphere by the tiniest of margins.

"And on that note, how about 'we' start making dinner!" She announced with a giggle. "Because I am just a little hungry myself!"

"Can I help?" He asked as she got up.

"Of course you can." She replied warmly.

With the knowledge that they were going to prepare dinner together, she happily took out a few ingredients for a similar soup to what she'd made earlier. Truth be told she made it because she had zero idea what else he could eat, Aelita didn't explain and Jeremy was asleep when she made it. So, a simple soup seemed like the best idea.

While she prepared the pot for the stew, she handed him a few ingredients to cut up for her, watched over by Aelita who looked fascinated by the vegetables and fruits they were using.

The ingredients were slowly prepared as the pot and sauce was made, she watched as he had difficulty holding the knife. It was cute to her, watching him try to handle cutting the pineapples and turnips. Aelita though was observing him with great interest and curiosity, looking absolutely intrigued by how he was handling and using the knife.

"Are you alright Jeremy?" She asked warmly, trying not to let him feel rushed or comment on how badly he was doing.

"I've never wielded a knife before its… very different than using the surgical tools I was trained with." He said as he tried pushing down harder.

"You've never used a knife before?" She asked curiously.

"All our food in the base was… well… reduced to a sloppy paste that was essentially squeezed out of a container." He said as he finished cutting up one pineapple at last, though the slices were poorly proportioned. "The 'career' of chef died out when food reserves began to run low, so learning to cook was something not taught. The only knives we learned to use were surgical tools for medical purposes."

She smiled sadly at that, he never learned something like 'cooking' because there wasn't a need to learn it. "Here, let me show you how to use a knife." She said warmly.

She sidled up next to him and grabbed another knife and one of the tomatoes.

"When you hold the knife, hold it like this…" She said.

She showed him step by step how to first 'hold' the knife, then the proper way to cut food with it, and how much pressure was needed. As she watched him, she smiled at his speed with which he learned, her own skills only novice level at best, just enough to get around the kitchen. However, once he began to master the basics, his speed gradually increased.

All the time they spent preparing the ingredients though was watched by Aelita, who simply lay on her front watching them, observing and smiling the entire time.

After a while though the ingredients were finally finished, and the stew was beginning to simmer. So, while they waited for it to finish, she asked him more about himself and what life was like in the base.

"Well, since most children and young adults were all in school, most of the adults were either trying to help out the refugees, repairing broken down equipment or treating the sick and injured." He said. "Any people who were free were helping to break down and take apart various military equipment, like drones and war machines."

"Wait… your people 'still' had weapons?" She asked. "Even in such dire times?"

"There was still a fear deep down that the fragile 'peace' that existed between all people would break down." He said sadly. "But it was a risk we had to take, we needed the parts more than the weapons… everyone else thought the same though, they needed the parts and did the same as well. We couldn't afford to keep them… which is how I got into the idea of repurposing them… it seemed like a waste to just completely dismantle them, so when I was old enough, I began to take them apart but rebuilt their functions to try and help however they could."

"Like what?"

"Well I repurposed some of our Scorpio-Drones, so that they could be used to lift heavy objects… then there were the DOG bots, I retooled them so that they could function as multi-purpose engineers and field doctors and assist their handlers in performing field surgery and on-sight technical assistants, and even in autonomous mode it could perform 'non-lethal' interference."

Something in the back of her mind told her not to ask what they 'originally' did, just their names gave her the impression they weren't nice. Still, she was intrigued by what he did, since he didn't give off the image of being a 'doctor' or a 'technician'.

The rest of the waiting for dinner passed by in silence as neither had anything else to ask about the other at the moment, and Aelita was still continuing to just watch them, content to be silent and passive. When dinner was ready, she gave prepared two bowls for them both and two nice cold glasses of pineapple juice.

"Dig in!" She said cheerfully.

"Thank you again." He said as they both took a spoonful.

"Think nothing of it!"

As she ate her soup, she watched the expression on his face change from content to blissful from the first bite he took. She felt a tingle in her heart as she did, feeling a sense of joy that he was deeply enjoying her simple cooking. Just seeing her new friend looking peaceful despite everything that's happened in the last few days, from discovering his entire species is gone, to slowly finding the will to keep living, to nearly losing his last friend from his past… it made her feel glad that her limo had nearly run him over that one day.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

"Yes… its wonderful." He said.

She accepted his gratitude and they resumed eating their food in silence, watched over by Aelita who couldn't join them but seemed more than content to observe the two still. The image of her and him eating a meal late in the day, watched over by a silent observer, made her feel peaceful and content herself after the day she'd had.

Between the practice for her recording, the photographing for a new magazine, and then that music video she was also working on, just this brief period of calm and quiet was something she just needed.

That was until he went to grab the glass of pineapple juice, she had poured for him.

He only went to grab the glass with his right hand, but the moment he did his arm suddenly tensed up and he pulled back as if he had touched molten lava. "Hnnnnng!" He yelped.

She had only a second to think of asking what happened, when she remembered his Cryogenetic Sclerosis.

"Jeremy!" She suddenly yelped, Aelita looking on in confusion and worry as his arm began shaking and trembling. "I'm right here Jeremy, don't worry, I'm right here with you!"

Jeremy nodded as he slowly curled in his chair, one arm trembling as the other arm held the fabric of his clothes down, trying to avoid touching it and triggering the effect of his disease to the rest of his body. As she too held his arm, she could feel once more the dreaded cold his body was feeling. Moments ago his arm had been pleasantly warm thanks to the soup, but one tentative glass of cold juice and now he felt like he had been in the middle of Tundra Town wearing nothing but a diving suit for hours.

"It's so cold…" He muttered faintly.

She pulled over the still hot bowl of soup and shifted it over so that it could warm his arm up.

It took him several minutes before at last his arm warmed up and returned to normal, and when it did his breathing slowly began to settle. He looked at the glass of juice before chuckling sadly.

"Sorry for ruining dinner." He apologized.

"It's not your fault… I should have remembered your… 'disease'." She said, mentally slapping herself. "You warned me that interacting with sudden cold would trigger it."

Aelita looked in confusion between the two, unsure and unaware of what was going on, something she made sure to let them know when she got their attention. After a brief explanation from Jeremy about his Cryogenetic Sclerosis, the AI frowned in sadness.

"Aelita wait, you contain all of human knowledge yes, isn't there a way to cure his disease?" She asked suddenly.

Aelita shook her head saying 'no'.

"There is no cure, all I can do is treat the symptoms." Jeremy confirmed.

Aelita nodded in agreement, confirming what he said.

"So, you can't enjoy even a refreshing glass of juice?" She asked sadly. "Ice cream, soda, cold showers… you can't enjoy anything like that?"

He sighed before nodding sadly. "I'm afraid it seems so Gazelle."

She looked over at the food and picked up both glasses and dumped the contents. If he couldn't share a cold drink with her at dinner, then she wouldn't have a drink without him. He's her guest and she will have it no other way.

"Well I won't let a little thing like that stop us from enjoying a nice warm meal!" She said kindly.

As they resumed eating, Jeremy more slowly than before, she continued to watch him to make sure he didn't suffer a repeat of before. The food was soon gone, and Jeremy helped clean up the dishes, insisting that he help since he helped 'make' the food.

After that was done, they put everything away and were now left with the question of what to do with the rest of the day. It was close to ten and she was thinking of something to help lighten the night and pass the time before they go to bed.

"Uh, do you mind if I use the bathroom really quick?" He asked.

"Oh of course not!" She said warmly.

She led him upstairs to the bathroom and showed it to him.

"If you need anything holler, in fact I want you to also take a shower!" She said. "There's a little bin I use for my clothes sometimes, please put yours in it and I'll clean them for you."

With that she left him and returned to downstairs to sit next to Aelita and wait, who was smiling at her the entire time.

"What are you smiling for?" She asked warmly.

Aelita pointed at her forehead, before pointing specifically at her antlers.

"Oh, your curious about my antlers?" She asked, to which Aelita nodded. "Well, if you're wondering, having antlers is like having a bit of weight on my head that sometimes pulls it backward."

The AI nodded in understanding, and moments later Jeremy called to her saying his clothes were ready for him. She went and grabbed the small bin laden with the clothes the hospital had given him to wear and took them to the washer down the hall. As she placed them in and set the cycle for a ten-minute period, she made a mental note to help him get new clothes since he would be staying with her for a while.

'_Just because he's my guest is no reason he has to live in a single set of clothes!'_

"Well, since you asked about me, mind if I ask about Jeremy?" She asked when she returned to the couch with Aelita.

The AI nodded but shrugged, saying in her own way that 'she doesn't know everything'.

"Jeremy… did he by chance have a 'girlfriend' before he was frozen?" She asked curiously. "You know… just wondering."

Aelita raised her eyebrow, smirking at Gazelle's question.

"I'm just asking because he was… when I first told him… he wanted us to kill him." She said, blushing slightly at what the AI was implying. "And I just… wanted him to not die. Nomammal should beg to be killed, just so they would be with their loved ones again…"

Aelita's expression softened as she nodded in understanding, before shaking her head and saying 'no, he didn't have one'.

"Why not, surely someone like him…" She began saying before again, Aelita shook her head sadly. "Did humans not 'love' in those days?"

She gave a sad expression before she nodded, but it was a sad nod that indicated it was a much sadder story than the antelope was asking for. The AI looked down at her hand before placing it on her heart, showing the emotion of love, before letting the arm go and turning away.

"They 'could' love but… they chose not to?" She asked to which Aelita nodded. "Why… even as bad as things were…"

Aelita answered instantly before Gazelle could even finish asking, and created an image of a lush green landscape, complete with snow tipped mountains and a blue sky. Then it flashed and took on the image of a barren landscape, where the grass was gone and there were endless craters, the mountains broken in jagged forms. Finally, the image changed, to show humans attempting to repair the damage by filling in the craters with dirt… even as some of them looked sickly while trying, despite wearing specialized gear to protect them from something she couldn't see.

"They couldn't love if there was nothing to live for in the future…" She said sadly, imagining a world that seemed so hopeless that not even 'love' could make it better. "They tried to do everything to save their world, sacrificing 'everything'… even their own feelings."

Aelita nodded sadly.

"Does Jeremy… think the same?"

The AI shrugged, before assuming Jeremy's form and speaking in his voice. _**(There has to be a reason for me to be here, some reason, any reason! There has to be 'something' I can do.)**_ With that she returned to normal and shrugged again. She thought so but wasn't 'sure'.

Gazelle nodded as she too knew that he needed 'something' in his life, he's been trying to find it on his own now, but nothing has come to him. "Well what can he do, what is he, a doctor or engineer of some kind?"

Again, Aelita shrugged.

"He said his father made you, and you were a part of his life, shouldn't you know about him?"

Aelita raised her eyebrow before her eyes glowed, and Gazelle's phone began ringing. She looked at it and picked it up seeing the caller ID was 'herself'. Answering it she heard a digital monotone voice over the speaker say, _**(Just because I was created to be the moral compass of humanity, does not mean I know the educational schooling every single human received in their lifetime!)**_ before the phone hung up.

She looked down in surprise at the AI. "Whatever happened to being only able to communicate with words by singing?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

The AI, smiled and winked and pointed up to the stairs, telling her to check on Jeremy and his clothes.

"Goodness I almost forgot about those for a moment…" She said as she got up and headed to check on his clothes.

Minutes later she reached the bathroom with a robe for Jeremy to wear while his clothes were drying. After confirming he was alright and that he'd finished, she slid the robe for him to use and told him come downstairs when he was ready. Minutes later he walked downstairs in a purple bathrobe that he had tied down as tight as he could so it wouldn't slip or break open when he sat or walked.

She had to admit he looked very handsome when he was washed and clean, for a human.

"How do you feel Jeremy?" She asked warmly.

"Much better, thank you miss Gazelle." He said as he sat down beside her, being careful to keep his legs as covered as possible.

"Oh, stop with the 'Miss Gazelle' thing, you're my guest and I consider us friends now, just call me Gazelle, no need to be formal with me." She said with a laugh.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Maybe but still, thank you again for everything." He said. "I know I keep saying this, but is there anything I can do to repay you for what you're doing for me?"

"Well how about telling me what you 'do' for a living? What are you, an engineer or a doctor of some kind?" She asked, "You said you were schooled in medicine and technical work, right?"

"Well yes, I was taught medicine and engineering, every kid was taught those skills growing up in the base. I have the educational equivalent of a Doctorate PHD in Engineering and Medical Practices. Although we all received equal technical and computational training, most of what I know is specialized training involving the construction, repair, and maintenance of energy production facilities from our time. As for medical, I was trained to perform surgical procedures and treat various levels of injuries ranging from Mediocre to Severe."

"Mediocre… what's that mean?"

"Well… in my time the Abbreviated Injury Scale was updated to include two new levels of injury, Mediocre was below Minor, and Extreme came after Critical." He explained. "Basically, the tiniest injury such as a 'paper cut' was considered mediocre, but since the final war happened injuries of all kinds were occurring and still occurred after, so it became necessary to increase the definition levels of injuries. I can treat tiny cuts someone gets without realizing it, to someone sustaining an injury that may result in the loss of a limb or even an organ."

"Well, that's quite the resume… you'd make a fine doctor then!" She said with a smile.

"But that is only in treating 'humans', even if a mammal were to suddenly become paralyzed, theoretically I could treat it, but I would not attempt to." He said sadly. "I cannot allow myself to treat an injury on someone who's body I do not understand the inner workings of inside and out like I do a human body. So essentially all that knowledge and training is useless to me now. I'd end up doing more harm than good."

"Oh, I see…" She said taken aback.

They sat in silence while Aelita spent her time performing a dance which involved her twirling and swaying her arms from side to side.

"I don't suppose you have any energy problems here in this world?" He asked hopefully.

Gazelle looked thoughtful before she nodded with a smile. "Yes actually, Zootopia has been having some problems in recent weeks." She said. "I know that parts of Tundra Town and Rainforest District have been having power problems, according to the news there's some kind of 'Energy Crisis' going on. The mayor's been trying to find a solution but so far she's not had much success. She was on the news a week ago explaining how she was beginning construction of a new field of Windmills to try and help the problem ever since Rainforest District's waterfall power plant began suffering malfunctions and had to be shut down."

"Windmills?" He asked excitedly. "I know all about those, that's basic technology from my time. We tried shifting over from a Fossil Fuel based production of power to more reusable energy sources like wind and solar once oil became harder to share."

He looked down at Aelita who had stopped twirling to glance at him.

"Aelita, do you think I could return to the base and create a new generator using parts and…"

The AI instantly crossed her arms and stared at him with an unamused expression.

"I guess… it would be wrong to do that?"

She nodded before raising her hand and creating an image of a nuclear power plant, and then created next to it an image of it exploding.

"Oh… your saying we shouldn't give them human technology because of how disastrous it could be?" He said to which she nodded. "But this is 'windmill' technology, how could giving them access to advanced windmill generator technology be catastrophic?"

She changed the images this time to humans leaving a building with a sign saying 'Closed', then another image saying, 'Stocks Prices Drop 92% Value', and finally an image of rioters attacking police with signs saying, 'We need Jobs!'

"Oh… I see." He said with a sigh.

Giving the mammals access to human technology no matter how safe could damage their world far more than it could help. With powerful human windmill generators places could be forced to shut down, many would lose their jobs, and it could cause far more harm than he intended.

"Is it that bad that Aelita?" Gazelle asked. "Jeremy is just trying to help us, isn't there anything he can do?"

He looked between the antelope and the AI, and the AI rolled her eyes before she turned to him and 'sighed'. She then turned to the TV and pointed at it, before looking at Gazelle, as if asking for permission.

"Go ahead…"

Aelita nodded and turned it on, before switching it from 'TV' mode to 'InterWeb' mode and began accessing the mammal's version of the human's internet. From there she looked up their most modern Windmill Generators and the schematics tied to it.

"Okay so that's how it all works… oh yea this is so low tech…" He muttered as he got up and looked closer at the schematic. "But… yea, I think… yea! It just might work!"

He turned to Gazelle and Aelita excitedly. "If I use 'your' technology and improved it, using human engineering techniques, I could improve the energy output of your Windmills by almost double or triple, but I wouldn't be doing 'anything' that isn't impossible to accomplish!" Then he looked at Aelita before asking an important question. "Aelita… would it be okay to do this for them?"

She looked at him with a deep understanding of his question, she knew what he was asking. He was asking if it was 'morally correct' to do this for the mammals, helping solve their problem using 'his' engineering techniques while using 'their' level of technology.

She put her hand to her chin and turned away, deliberating his question as hard as she could. She was obviously consulting her knowledge of humanity, her moral and ethical coding known as the 'Wisdom of Humanity' to help solve this problem. Her AI was now consulting millions if not billions of hypothetical moral and ethical questions to decide the best outcome. Depending on what she was given she would either tell him it was okay or not, and whatever she said he would have to abide by.

He wanted to do what was best for them, she knew this, but he feared that it wouldn't be right to help them despite his desire to do good 'for' the mammals who saved his life and hers.

After a full three minutes of silent deliberation she turned to him with a stern look on her face, and he feared her response but also braced himself to accept the worst.

Then she smiled, and nodded, giving him a thumbs up.

"Thank you Aelita!" He said.

"Well by the sounds of it, your going to need some clothes Jeremy, I'll go get them." Gazelle said with a chuckle. "You two do whatever it is you intend to do… I'll be right back."

When she left he looked back at the screen and already began looking at how to improve it… it was going to be a long night, but he was determined to help out the city in whatever way he could.


	7. Chapter 7

'_The sacrifice was much too high, our greed just made us all go blind'_

'_We tried to hide what we feared inside, today is the end of tomorrow'_

'_As the sea started rising the land that we'd conquered just washed away'_

'_Although we all had tried to turn back the tide, it was all in vain!'_

.

(One week After Aelita Awakens)

In the outer districts beyond Tundra Town a group of winter wolves and a few rhinos were busy installing a new generator into one of the many wind mill turbines built near the breeziest part of the snowy biome of Zootopia to take advantage of the reusable source of energy. With the Hydro powerplant down in the Rainforest District following a turbine malfunction, it was important to get these up and running as fast as possible to help ease the energy crisis.

"Hey Jeffrey, this is Tod at Number Seventeen!" The Rhino said into his phone. "The new generator is in and we're about to turn her loose!"

"Let it rip Tod, numbers two and four are down for maintenance, we need all the power we can get from her!"

"Number's two AND four?" He called back angrily. "What are those idiots doing, have they heard of this thing Tundra Town is having called an 'energy crisis'?"

He had every right to be mad, his home was 'in' one of the areas that was currently without power. He had to move his whole family into his cousin's place until they could get power back on. It was not a happy thing having two families of rhinos being cramped together.

"Sorry Tod, nothing we can do, just hope nothing needs fixing or replacement this time like number seventeen did!"

Tod grunted as he turned his phone off and signaled his buddy to turn the windmill on. Moments later the propellers began to turn their slow and steady pace, matching numbers sixteen and eighteen nearby alongside the others he could barely see through the blizzard. He nodded proudly that the new generator built to replace the old one had fit so well and was working without any issue so far.

Ten minutes later as he went inside number seventeen to check on the generator itself, he received a phone call from EHQ.

"This is Tod at number seventeen, what's up?"

"Tod, what the heck is going on at number seventeen?"

"What do you mean, everything is working smoothly over here!" He said confused, looking at the generator running perfectly before him.

"Because our readings here indicate that the energy output of number seventeen is almost 'three times' what it should be! Number seventeen is putting out the same energy as sixteen, eighteen and nineteen combined!"

Eyes wide he ran outside and looked at the propellers high above, comparing the speed they were going at to the two nearby that he could clearly see. From his eye they were moving the same speed, but still unconvinced he ran inside and had one of his colleagues call up the rotation speed data.

"Turning speed is steady at thirteen MPH, same as all the others!" The arctic wolf said.

"And yet it's putting out three times the energy!" Tod muttered as he called up EHQ. "Do we have a schematic of this new generator?"

"Negative on that Tod, we haven't received an official word to replace the generators with a new one yet." They said. "Who authorized the new generator installation on your end?"

"Nobody did, we assumed 'you' sent us the new generator." He responded. "Who built this thing and shipped it to us?"

"Same company who usually builds our generators and replacement parts for these mills." His colleague said. "Hang on, I got a schematic from them in an email… says they were commissioned by someone in our company named… 'Aelita'… whoever that is. They even said that the mammal who commissioned it gave them the schematic of the generator to build…"

"You know anymammal named 'Aelita'?" He asked EHQ who were still on the phone.

"Negative, there is nobody named Aelita working for us."

"Well whoever they are… they commissioned one heck of a generator for us…" He replied as he looked over the schematic. "I'm just taking a quick look at the schematic here, and this thing is incredible… I've never seen engineering design like this before."

"Your telling me, whoever designed this overhauled the specs, some of this looks like it's used in the hydro power plant's generator design. It even uses the same 'enhancer' system used to increase the energy output and storage. This turbine is capable of outputting three times the energy as any of our windmills using the 'same' turning speed as the others." The wolf said in amazement. "There are even notes indicating how it works, how to repair any malfunctions, optimal maintenance schedule… this was built with 'love' chief."

"EHQ, how long would it take to replace 'all' of our windmills with this new generator?" Tod asked.

"About two years, this new generator was built as a 'rush order', whoever this 'Aelita' mammal is illegally used company funds and hacked in to create a phony profile to do this. The Exec isn't going to be happy about this and will probably be pulling in his team of lawyers."

"Well whoever this 'Aelita' is deserves a promotion, because this generator design, she gave us is going to solve all of Tundra Town's energy problems!" He said as he once again looked over the schematic.

Chapter 7) A Venture Outside

(Jeremy's PoV)

"So uh, are you sure this will work Gazelle?" He asked her.

"One hundred percent sure!" The antelope said cheerfully.

"But… its like 'summer' isn't it? This is a large winter scarf and large winter gloves… I'm going to stick out like… well… like a 'human'!" He said as he held up his hand to examine the gloves he wore.

He was wearing a large and heavy winter scarf that was meant for a tiger and on his hands were a pair of 'tiger sized gloves', both meant to disguise his human features from behind and the side. To help conceal his head he was wearing one of Gazelle's summer hats she wore sometimes, and even had a pair of fake horns to make him look like an Antelope, worn by her backup dancer bodyguards at one of her previous concerts as a getup. To help cover his face better she had him wear a pair of 'blocky' sunglasses. That hat was more to keep the fact he was wearing fake antlers a secret, unless someone looked closely, they'd think he was just an oddly dressed Antelope.

All this to help hide him because they were going out into town, Gazelle wanting to show him the city because he's been in her home for nearly a week now, and it was starting to drive him and Aelita crazy. Aelita wanted to see the outside world, and despite the fact she could learn all she wanted to via the Interweb, she wanted to see it with her own eyes. Jeremy also wanted to go outside, but for Aelita's sake because he wanted her to see the world.

"You'll stick out no matter what Jeremy, trust me this will work just fine!" She said with a smile.

Next to him Aelita was giggling in her glass sphere at him.

"What?" He asked her.

She laughed out and held her knees with her hands, using one hand to point at him.

"I look ridiculous, don't I?" He asked her.

She nodded while still laughing at him.

"Need I remind you Aelita that without that holo-sphere your using, you look like a motherboard with wires and circuitry?" He deadpanned as Gazelle put on a pair of sunglasses and a hat as well to match him. "Are you sure this disguise will work Gazelle, what if someone recognizes me from the hospital?"

"They didn't get a real good view of you, and if anyone sees you with me in public, I'll just make something up for the paparazzi to gossip about me!" She said with a smile. "Come on, this is going to be fun, trust me! Besides you need some new clothes, and I want to show you around Zootopia like I promised."

He couldn't argue with that, his only set of clothes were still loose, and he 'needed' underwear that fit him.

He took one last look at his gloved hand and sighed before picking up Aelita in her sphere and held her in his hands. With that they were finally ready to leave.

They left her house into a beautiful sunny day, with Jeremy looking up to see hardly a cloud in sight. The view of the light blue sky with that yellow glowing orb high above him making him pause in awe. The last time he looked at the sky properly had been… however long ago he visited the surface before he froze.

Thinking about that he turned to Aelita who was also looking at the sky in wonder.

"It's beautiful isn't it Aelita?" He asked.

She looked at him and nodded with a smile, before pointing at Gazelle who had stopped at her limo to wait for him to catch up with one of her Tiger bodyguards.

"Sorry, its just…" He muttered when he did catch up to her.

"Don't worry, I understand completely…" She whispered warmly, patting him on the shoulder. "Everything is different for you, I understand. Even something 'we' take for granted like a beautiful sunny day, for you was rare."

As she walked around the limo to climb in from the other side while he and Aelita climbed in from his side, he silently muttered to himself, "You have no idea how rare…"

Aelita however heard him, and only glanced up in his direction before looking away.

Minutes later they were driving away and heading off to Savanna Central, or downtown Zootopia, where nearly all of the mammals lingered and got together to go about their days. As they entered downtown district he looked up at the massive buildings and glass structures alongside Aelita. Both of them wide eyed as they saw the amazing city, almost a mirror image of what one of 'humanity's' cities in its golden age looked like only larger. The glinting of the light from the sun bouncing off the buildings slightly blinding him at times only emphasized the fact that this was a 'city', a real city above ground and not the cramped metal hallways and steel rooms of his base underground.

"It's amazing…" He commented, to which Aelita nodded in agreement, her own eyes wide in wonder.

"That is Zootopia, it has that effect on every mammal that first sees it." She said warmly. "We're just entering Savannah Central; our first destination is a clothes shop for you."

"Wow… how 'big' are some of these buildings?" He asked as he pointed at some of the buildings they passed.

"Zootopia Tower is the biggest of them all." Gazelle said, pointing to the tallest building they could see, one that had a curved point at its top. "It's about one hundred and five floors tall, though some of those floors are meant for large mammals like giraffes, elephants, and others are small for gerbils and other rodents."

Gazelle looked at him as he continued to look at the building in question.

"How big did human buildings get?"

"Well… the history records indicated the tallest building constructed was a massive housing complex created by the City States Union of France in 2174, designed to house over seven hundred thousand people, stood roughly one hundred and ninety-seven floors tall, and took up as much space as an entire city block. Each floor was also the same size."

Gazelle's eyes went wide at that number. "You built structures 'that' tall?"

"It was necessary to cope with the population growth… when your species numbers forty billion, you can't house everyone in their own little homes." He said quietly. "That complex-styled building was the simplest and cheapest solution at the time for housing the poor income families at the time, it gave a cheap affordable home but… it meant millions were cramped together like… ants in an anthill."

Aelita nodded before glowing and creating an image of a large square building, each window too small to be noticed but she showed the size comparison by first showing a single human and waving at her and Jeremy. Then she shrank the human till it was almost 'miniscule' and barely noticeable when compared to the large cube building, he was talking about.

"Oh… I see…" Gazelle said, the wonder in her voice now gone as she realized the building wasn't designed for splendor but for purpose. "Well at least it was really big!"

"Yea…" He muttered as he looked out the window and saw the other tall buildings, admiring how fancy they looked in comparison. "At least they were big."

(Gazelle's PoV)

She watched Jeremy look away from her and back to the other buildings, looking at their various designs and how they looked and feeling her heart hurt a little bit at the sadness in his words. She had 'tried' to sound positive but, every time he mentioned anything related to humans it always seemed to end negatively. Even with her talking about how amazing at how tall man-made structures could stand, he soured it by making it sound bad.

She frowned at the human, she had hoped this first venture would be a positive experience, but already it was having a negative effect.

As Moe turned down the street toward the clothing center, she hoped that their first stop would brighten his day at least.

Thinking about clothes she had an idea to get his mind off the sad thought. "What kind of clothes would you like?" She asked. "Something casual and maybe something professional? You know for if you ever have to talk to the mayor again?"

At the mention of clothes Jeremy seemed to brighten up because he mentioned that he had never had 'casual or professional clothes' before.

"Then that will be our first task today!" She said cheerfully. "I happen to know a clothes store owner and called him yesterday to do me a big favor!"

"Like what?" Jeremy asked as they pulled up to a store called 'Sabre's Linens, Business and Casual'.

As they left the limo, they approached the main door which had a 'Store Closed' sign on it. While Moe took the limo away, they entered the store with her rather hurriedly trying to get Jeremy inside before anyone spotted them. Fortunately, it was just after midday and the only mammals out and about were either those with the day off or people off to get lunch, so nobody noticed them.

Once inside the store she quickly looked around for her friend 'Sabre'.

"Sabre, are you here?" She called out as Jeremy followed behind her looking at all of the clothes on display on the various mammalequins.

"There you are darling~!" He called out warmly, the black panther walking from around a row of suits on the far side of the store.

She smiled warmly at the black panther as he strode over and gave her a warm hug which she returned. Her friend was one of her prime sources of her various dresses and outfits that she and her backup dancers wore for concerts and music videos. He was a maestro when it came to apparel designing, both female and male mammals, designing for all shapes and sizes. Not only that but because she outsourced the outfits from him, his business boomed thanks to her popularity. Needless to say, he owed her at least 'one' favor for all she's done for his store.

"Oh, darling it's been too long, how goes the new music video you are working on?" He growled cheerfully as he led them into the store.

"Sabre its only been two weeks." She said as she took off her sunglasses and hat. "The outfit you made for me looks amazing by the way, I can't wait till the video is done so you can see it on screen!"

"Oh, two weeks and already I want to see it seen by all of Zootopia darling!" He said proudly.

She chuckled as they reached his measuring station, already prepared for Jeremy with a changing curtain drawn for privacy nearby.

"Sabre, did you get my message yesterday regarding the favor I asked of you?"

"Oh, I think I skimmed most of it, I only knew you wanted me to close my store for the day so that I could help your 'friend' out with a private measurement and help him pick out clothes for himself!" He said warmly. "So, who is this 'charming young mammal' you asked me to close my store for an entire day for~? Is he a boyfriend of yours darling~?"

"Sabre he's not my boyfriend, he's just a mammal who's my friend…" She stuttered with a blush.

"Ah but you can't deny that, he is a boy, and he's a friend of yours~!" He responded before he 'finally' noticed Jeremy and Aelita. "Oh, is this the young mammal? Hmmm nice antlers, a little smaller than yours but…"

He went silent as he looked at the glowing sphere held in Jeremy's hands, only realizing Aelita was inside of it as she looked around at all of the clothes and even the panther with a curious gaze and wonder on her face.

"Sabre, this is 'Jeremy'." She said gesturing to Jeremy who was still fully disguised. "And this, is his friend… Aelita."

Aelita waved hello before bowing to him in greeting, Jeremy also offered his greetings in the form of a handshake which Sabre accepted, a little confused and stunned as he beheld his two guests.

"How is… what is…" He asked quietly, glancing at her.

"Jeremy… its okay, you can remove the disguise." She said warmly. "Sabre is my friend, I wouldn't have brought you to him if I didn't trust him to keep your secret."

"Okay." He said before offering her Aelita's sphere so he could remove his disguise more easily.

Slowly Jeremy began to remove the pieces of clothing that were obscuring his human features, starting with the hat that also removed the antlers, revealing his dark hair. Then came the gloves revealing his hands, the scarf revealing his face and ears, and finally his sunglasses which revealed his eyes and mostly flat face.

Slowly comprehension dawned on Sabre that her 'friend' wasn't just an ordinary mammal that she had just asked him to help out.

"I think I should have paid more attention to your message Gazelle." He muttered. "What… are you?"

"I'm… 'human'." He muttered.

The reaction to the word 'human' was instantaneous by her panther friend. One moment he went from being confused and curious to suddenly scrambling and backing away in shock and fear. He had changed from being her proud and eccentric friend to looking terrified for his life as he looked at Jeremy.

"H-HUMAN?!" He screamed in fear.

Jeremy was just as taken aback, taking a tentative step backward to put a little distance between him and the panther while also looking a little nervous. Aelita was also confused at Sabre's reaction and trying to understand what he was so afraid of.

"Sabre… calm down, he's not dangerous!" She said, patting his shoulder as he began hyperventilating. "He's not going to hurt you, he wouldn't hurt anymammal."

"You have no idea, he could shapeshift and… fly and… grow talons or something at any time!" He almost yelled. "He could kill us with his magic powers or something, what is a 'Human' doing here in Zootopia?!"

"Magic powers?" Jeremy asked incredulously. "Also how do you know about humans?"

He turned to Aelita who looked up at him.

"Aelita, how long were you sleeping since dad turned you off?" He asked the AI.

Aelita instantly used her fingers to give him a number, using each number of fingers to represent a digit.

"Three Hundred and forty-seven thousand, five hundred and fifty-two years?" He asked in astonishment.

Aelita nodded and added three new numbers to that count.

"And four months and twenty-six days?" He deadpanned. "I don't think I needed an 'exact' count Aelita…"

She shrugged with an 'you asked for it' expression.

While he and Aelita talked among themselves she was just now calming down Sabre and convincing him that the human was not a threat and that he wasn't anything like the stories he'd no doubt been raised on about the mythical and legendary species that most mammals assumed only existed 'in' stories.

"Jeremy 'is' a human Sabre, but he's nothing like the tales you were raised on." She said calmly. "His species cannot grow scales, they cannot fly, they can't sprout fangs or talons, and they certainly can't change their body at will or use magic powers."

She also looked sad as she revealed the last bit of info about her friend.

"And… he's also the 'last' of his kind."

At hearing that Sabre looked at her and then back to him, letting that knowledge sink in with everything else.

"The 'last' of… his kind?" He whispered.

She nodded sadly. "He's alone Sabre… he's the only survivor of his species." She said. "They tried 'everything' to save as many as they could… but when they found that structure last week, only 'he' was found alive. The rest were gone… and even then, he barely survived."

She leaned closer so that she could whisper to him, "Please Sabre, just give him a chance… he's only gotten over the loss of everything he knew and everymammal he knew recently."

Sabre finally nodded and got up before offering a handshake again, which Jeremy kindly accepted with his own.

"I'm sorry, it's just… most predators know of humans as… well the 'ultimate predator' spirits." He said apologetically. "Humans to us were the perfect predator species, no weaknesses, no fears… they could do 'anything' they wanted."

"Oh… we had our… weaknesses… and we had fears… but we could certainly do anything we put our minds to." He muttered.

"And who are you?" Sabre asked Aelita.

"This is Aelita, she's an 'artificial intelligence', AI for short." Jeremy said as Aelita nodded and waved. "She can't really leave this sphere, so she can't shake hands. She also can't talk unless it's in song form, so all she can do is gesture and change her image to convey messages."

Aelita nodded and showed what he meant by taking on Sabre's form and recreating how he reacted to Jeremy, and frowning at him with a scolding look, as if she were saying he had been very 'rude' to them.

"Well let me make amends for how I acted, you came here for measurements and to look for new outfits yes?" The panther said with a chuckle. "My friend Gazelle, why don't you go try on some of my newest outfits that just came in from Sahara Square, while I attend to your friend?"

"Alright Sabre, you take care of him." She said. "Jeremy, you're in good paws, Sabre is my friend and one of the best tailors in town!"

With that she went to toward the new dresses that he told her about. As she did, she looked over a few of them while thinking about something in the back of her mind. There was a big movie coming out soon that she had did the music video for the main song, and because of this she had been given an invite to a party which would premiere the movie to a select group of VIPs.

She 'was' tempted to just ignore it and stay home, but now that she thought about it, the invitation said she could take a guest, and she honestly wouldn't mind bringing Jeremy to it to help socialize him and get other mammals used to him.

Smiling with her plan, she decided to pick out the perfect dress from what Sabre had to see what she thought 'Jeremy' would like to see her in.

Then she mentally slapped herself while shaking her head.

"Brain, he's just a friend… a very 'unique' friend but still… just a friend." She muttered as she looked over the dresses.

But while her brain seemed to accept that fact, her heart felt the teeniest, tiniest, bittiest bit of pang at her own words.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"So 'Jeremy', may I ask a question?" The panther asked as he held the measuring tape.

"Sure?" He said.

"Hold out your arms for a moment, yes straight out just like that!" Sabre said, lifting Jeremy's arms up. "Anyway, I was wondering, there are a 'few' stories about humans that many predator species tell about. We call you 'The Ancient Apex Predators', and I was wondering if 'any' of them are true?"

"Well what did you want to ask about?" He said as the Panther's whiskers were awfully close to him while he measured his arms.

"Could your species 'fly'?" He asked.

"Uh, no… not naturally." Jeremy said. "We had to invent vehicles to get us into the air, but no humans couldn't fly."

"So, you 'could' fly?" Sabre asked eagerly. "Just not naturally, right?"

"Yea."

"What about armor, could your species make scales and plated armor on your bodies?"

"Well… we could make 'clothes' and wear pieces of metal that 'acted' like scales."

"Marvelous…" He muttered to himself. "My mother always told me and my siblings about stories regarding humans. She said you could tame nature at will, force the land to bend to your command, and even destroy threats with but a gesture of your claws!"

"Well… we couldn't do that… normally…" He muttered, not liking the conversation.

"Oh, I'm sorry… touchy subject?" Sabre asked nervously.

"It's just… not something I like to talk about."

Aelita below him, sitting on the floor nodded in agreement.

Sabre, seeing that the subject wasn't one Jeremy, or the AI, wanted to discuss changed topics as he began measuring his other body ratios. "I'm going to need you to remove this shirt and pants Mr. Jeremy, I can't get a proper measurement of your waist and leg width until they are off."

"What?" He said suddenly.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"No, it's just… I have no 'underwear'." He said with a blush.

"Oh, that's not a big issue." The panther said before he did a double take. "I take it that humans don't have 'sheaths' for… 'that'?"

Jeremy shook his head in confirmation.

"Oh my, well… let me think quickly…"

Suddenly Aelita's sphere lit up and wrapped Jeremy's midsection in a blinding display of holographic light. When she did, she made sure to completely cover his private areas, and while it was active her human form could not take shape. The light was as solid as she could make it, preventing anyone from 'seeing' what lay beneath the area she had covered.

"Thank you Aelita!" He said as he took off the shirt and then pants, which both easily fell off him because they were too big for him.

He'd only managed to keep them on by using a belt to tighten them.

"Instant censorship, very nice!" Sabre muttered as he began measuring again.

After a few minutes of measuring the panther rolled up his tape and nodded to Jeremy that he could put his clothes back on, which he rapidly did. Being indoors and naked was giving him a very cold feeling and he feared it would trigger his Cryogenetic Sclerosis.

"Thank you again Aelita." He said as he picked her up.

The AI gave him a thumbs up indicating she had his back.

"Alright I have your measurements, and I definitely have your size for everything you need, now the only question is, what kind of 'fashion' are you looking for?" Sabre asked. "Something 'classical' perhaps, or perhaps a bit more 'modern', or would you prefer to go fancy?"

"Well, I don't know… it's been a long time since… well since I've worn any clothes outside of standard uniforms in the base." He replied.

"Then let's get started!" Sabre said proudly as he pulled the changing curtain around him, concealing him from view. "I'll go and grab some outfits for you to try on, in the meanwhile, here are some undergarments you can put on to wear. Goodness knows you needed some!"

"Did I hear that, is Jeremy about to try on some outfits at last?" He heard Gazelle call out.

"Uh, yes." He said.

"Well I can't miss this, I want to see what you look like in clothes that fit!" She called out happily.

"Then wait no more, here's the first one I want to try!" Sabre called out, handing a set to him through the curtains.

(Gazelle's PoV)

She just finished examining some of her friend's most recent designs and found nothing she liked, or that she felt Jeremy would have liked to see her in. Since she couldn't find one, she figured she'd ask Sabre to design something for her. But in the meantime, she'd heard that Jeremy was going to be trying on outfits and was eager to see him in something than besides the basic clothes the Hospital had given him which didn't fit him at all.

"Alright, let's see how you like this!" Sabre said with relish as he peaked inside the curtain. "I call this look, 'A typical walk in Sahara Square'!"

He revealed Jeremy to be wearing a yellow short sleeved shirt with matching beige trousers.

She chuckled as she suddenly imagined the human walking down the street in Sahara Square in that getup.

"Well I like it!" She said warmly.

"I don't know, I feel a little exposed…" Jeremy said curiously. "It's also a little light… you wouldn't happen to have anything heavier, would you?"

Aelita gave it a 'four out of ten', saying she didn't like it either.

"No problem, here, try this one on!" The panther said eagerly, not deterred at all as he closed the curtain and handed him a new set. "This one I like to call, 'Rainforest District's Delight'!"

Jeremy was revealed to be wearing a heavy pair of dark blue pants and matching shirt. The shirt had outlines of raindrops on it with the sleeves going down to his wrists. This time she had to admit he looked like a natural resident of Rainforest District!

"I feel like I'm about to run around in a thunderstorm." Jeremy commented as he twisted around to look at himself better. "But I like how the shirt feels and looks."

"You look just like a Rainforest native!" She commented.

Aelita however gave his outfit a 'six' out of ten.

"Since when did you become a fashion expert?" Jeremy deadpanned.

The AI giggled as she let that comment go while Sabre pulled the curtain around him again and handed him a new outfit to try on.

"Nothing to fear, I have just the thing, this time let's see how your piers appreciate the choice of look…" He said, smiling and enjoying the challenge of trying to get everyone's vote of approval. "This one I call, 'A Savannah Professional yet Tundra Casual'.

This time the curtain revealed Jeremy wearing a beige shirt and brown pair of casual pants while also wearing a dark grey trench coat that had fake fur cuffs and lined with soft feathery leather for the insides.

Gazelle had to slap herself because she was staring at him too much, he just looked 'handsome' in it.

"I love it!" She said quickly, giving him a warm smile.

"I like the coat." Jeremy said as he looked at himself.

Aelita gave him a once over before she relented and gave the outfit a 'nine' out of ten.

"A nine?" Sabre said in mock despair. "Oh no, I must have perfection! Let's try the next outfit!"

She watched as Jeremy was subjected to the many, many outfits of her tailor friend who seemed as delighted as he was determined to get a perfect ten out of ten from Aelita. He had put Jeremy in different outfits of various colors and fashion, ranging from home casual to party professional. Each time Aelita was the deciding vote, giving no higher than an eight for any other outfit besides the one that Jeremy, Gazelle and Aelita all liked.

As they continued, she watched the pile of clothes that didn't pass growing steadily larger next to the curtain, until it began to reach halfway to the top of it. Then after a while her panther friend was almost laughing at how exhausted he was trying to get her stamp of approval.

"I'm really sorry for Aelita, she is a very 'picky' individual." Jeremy muttered.

Said AI nodded sadly before pointing at him and then clutching at her heart with a sweet look on her face, saying 'she only wants what's best for him'.

"Well I can't believe I'm saying this, but I admit defeat, I can't think of anything that would get a perfect 'ten out of ten' from you!" Sabre chuckled.

"Aelita, what would it take to get a perfect ten from you?" She asked the AI.

Aelita looked at Gazelle before she beckoned Jeremy to pick her up and then hand her sphere to Sabre. With her in Sabre's paws she directed him around the store and had him show her various pieces of clothing. While they walked around, she went to Jeremy to talk to him.

"How are you feeling Jeremy?" She asked.

"I'm fine, just wondering what is going on with Aelita." He muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"When dad talked about her, she wasn't designed to be this… 'diverse' in her expressions or thought processes. She was only supposed to be a moral and ethical compass and talk about human history so we wouldn't make past mistakes." He said quietly. "She wasn't designed to be a 'fashion expert'…"

"Maybe she just wants to help you more than what she was programmed to do?" She said.

"Or maybe my dad did more than he said… or… maybe after… over three hundred thousand years in isolation… she developed new subroutines to her programming that helped her to 'evolve' beyond what she was originally." He said quietly. "That would explain why she's acted the way she did, commenting on everything I do or say, laughing and joking the way she does."

"She can do that?" She asked curiously, the AI still as much a mystery to her as anything 'human' related was.

"She is a miracle Gazelle, she was designed to be our emissary to 'whoever' came after us if we all died, she was created to give a good impression about us." He muttered. "But she's so different than what I pictured her, she could do so much more without me to weigh her down… all I can ask is why she is so attached to me?"

There was silence before he felt Gazelle hold his hand with her own, causing him to look at her warm smile.

"Because you're her family, and who wouldn't want to be with their family?"

At the word family she suddenly wished to take it back because she remembered that Jeremy was 'alone', and at the word family then human's expression turned sour.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jeremy I didn't mean to… I wasn't thinking…" She tried to apologize but he shook his head.

"It's alright… I've accepted it." He responded, but the grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly, one which she returned.

They simply sat there in silence for a few minutes while Sabre and Aelita were off on their own, simply enjoying each other's company.

When they came back, she let him go and returned to her position as Sabre pulled the curtain back and handed him a new set of clothes.

"Alright this is a new set we picked out, this one… I'm going to call 'Aelita's Embrace'!" The panther said proudly, before pulling the curtain back to reveal Jeremy.

Jeremy was now clad in a pair of thick pants colored black, with an equally heavy shirt colored white. He also wore a small pair of gloves that went up to above his wrists that were lined with fake fur and tiny pieces of rubber to grip and hold objects.

"Why the gloves?" She asked.

"I don't know entirely myself, but now that I look at it, it certainly adds more 'flare' to the overall look of the pants and shirt!" Sabre said. "While overall the outfit gives off that 'dull and boring' appearance the gloves add a bit of 'mystery and pizazz'!"

Aelita however pointed at Jeremy's hands, arms, legs and feet, before pointing directly at his heart with a nod of assurance.

"Oh, she's saying this outfit will help protect my body from my Cryogenetic Sclerosis." Jeremy said.

The AI nodded proudly before gesturing to his outfit and twirling in joy and giving him a 'ten' out of ten.

"You would give the outfit 'you' picked a 'ten out of ten' Aelita." He said.

"Regardless I 'love' the new look, I'm going to put it on display and show off a new line of clothes I've just come up with!" Sabre said proudly. "This has given me new ideas, in fact I'm going to call my new design 'Aelita's Vanity'."

At that Aelita gave him a sour look, shaking her head.

"Maybe change the name?" Gazelle asked hopefully as the door opened.

"Uh excuse me, is there a 'Sabre Tileteeth' here?" Someone called out.

They all turned to see a rabbit and fox in ZPD uniforms walk in through the front door. She recognized them as Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, some of the most famous police officers in Zootopia. They helped solve the Nighthowler Case regarding all the rabid predators, and even thwarted Mayor Bellwether's attempts to control the city through fear.

"Officers, hello there." Sabre said as he walked over to them. "I'm sorry I wasn't at home, but I had to come out today to help out a good friend of mine."

"No trouble at all Mr. Sabre, we just came by to ask you a few questions." Judy said before she noticed her. "Oh… uh… Miss Gazelle, how good to see you here!"

"Hello there." She replied, already seeing the 'fangirl' peep through the professional officer.

She had that effect sometimes on fans of hers in public, it made her laugh a little on the inside.

"Carrots…" Nick said, getting her back on track.

"Oh uh… mhmm, right… sorry." She said before resuming her professional attitude. "So, as I was saying, can you tell us exactly what happened two nights ago?"

Seeing that this was a personal matter she left her panther friend and went back to Jeremy who was trying to decide if he should change out of the clothes he was wearing or not.

"Go ahead and keep them and take the other ones that Aelita liked as well." She said warmly. "Sabre said they're on the house, so no charge. I'll have him prepare a few sets of this outfit as a 'standard' for you to wear!"

"But how much are they?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, that doesn't matter, trust me!" She said with a laugh. "What matters is you have something you like that's comfortable!"

(Jeremy's PoV)

With that she helped him fold up the clothes that they were keeping and placed Aelita to sit comfortably in the pile. As they began to leave the officers were wrapping up their questions for Sabre.

"Thank you, Mr. Sabre, we'll inform you if anything comes of this, you've been a great help." The rabbit officer said.

"Of course, I just hope whoever broke into my garage doesn't do it again." Sabre said. "It's not something I want to think about; my home being so easily broken into…"

"Oh, what happened Sabre, you didn't tell me your home got broken into?" Gazelle asked.

As she spoke up the officers turned to look at them, before eyes locked on him and Aelita. "Ah, 'Jeremy Wilheart'… if I remember all those briefings 'buffalo bullhead' sat us through." The fox said warmly. "So how ya taking to Zootopia Mr. Human?"

"Nick!"

"I'm just asking Carrots, no harm done!" He said with a chuckle.

"Uh, I'm fine… Miss Gazelle has helped me greatly getting adjusted… as well as sheltering me in her home." He responded nervously.

"Yea, the Mayor has given us all of the details, everyone at ZPD knows all about you and your underground home." The Rabbit said, walking forward and offering her paw in a handshake. "Judy Hopps, ZPD, pleasure to meet you 'properly' this time. Last time I saw you was at the hospital and we didn't get to introduce ourselves with all the chaos happening. And this is my partner on the force, Nick Wilde."

"Really Carrots, that's 'all' I am to you, your 'partner' on the force?" The fox asked slyly. "Casually forgets that I'm her fiancé now, what is a fox to do."

"Nick, oh no that's not what I mean I just… I mean…" Judy began saying, blushing in embarrassment and apology before her partner patted her on the head.

"Relax Carrots, I know, your parents are just getting used to it as well." He said calmly. "Love her parents by the way, good folks, raise wonderfully delicious blueberries by the way! Anyway, I know it's not your concern but do you two think you would be willing to just help us out really quickly."

"Of course, what can we help you with?" Gazelle asked.

"There has been a string of break ins all across the city, nothing unusual outside of the fact that the homes have reported somemammal breaking in and bypassing various security measures they've put in place." Judy said as she pulled out her notepad and looked at the notes taken. "Each time the mammal in question 'broke in' but instead of taking anything, seems to have 'fixed' something, before leaving the scene without a trace of being there."

"No mammal has seen anything or anymammal suspicious, but a few cameras placed around the city have caught 'glimpses' of somemammal at the scenes and times where it was reported." Nick said, taking out a picture and showing it to them. "Would either of you have any idea who or what this mammal is?"

Both Jeremy and Gazelle looked at the picture, before Jeremy's eyes snapped open and his body froze.

The picture was dark, and the angle offered no clear distinction and the little light being given off from a street lamp couldn't clearly define what was in the picture. But Jeremy saw a pair of 'red' glowing eyes staring at something. He could also 'barely' make out a faint outline of something short, roughly one to two feet tall… and he saw a clawed paw that, if he looked carefully… gave off a distinctive metal gleam with the light in the picture.

"No, I can't say I recognize it." Gazelle said with a warm tone. "And I doubt Jeremy would know anything since he's never left my home till today, right?"

Thinking quickly, he shook his head and smiled. "No, I can't say I do!" He said.

Gazelle seemed to have bought it, as did Judy the rabbit, but the fox watched him more carefully as he smiled and put the photo away.

"Say uh, Sabre, do you happen to have a bathroom I could use really quick… I just realized I haven't gone today…" He said, feigning an urge to go.

"In the back, you'll find two doors colored blue and pink, male's room is blue!" Sabre said warmly, taking the clothes from him. "I'll go and bag these up for you and Gazelle!"

"Thank you!" He said, taking Aelita and slow running to the bathroom in the back.

Once he was safely out of earshot and behind a closed door, he put Aelita down and turned to her.

"Aelita, I need you to bring up that picture!" He said.

She nodded and cast a holographic image of the photo on the wall.

"Okay, can you quickly enhance the image for me… I need to be sure!"

Seconds later the image brightened and darkened certain areas of the photo, before revealing exactly what he feared.

"Oh no…" He muttered fearfully.

The profile was small, as he suspected, a one foot seven-inch-tall robotic canine resembling a Husky from humanity's past. It was around six to seven feet in length and walked upon four slim legs, belying their true strength. It's eyes glowed red as it was using 'night vision mode' to see in the dark alley the photo had been taken. The little light that could reach back in the alley showed that it's titanium body structure still gleamed with perfect brilliance even after all this time. The tail was curved upward and to the rear in a 'J', acting as a rear scanner for any potential threats from the rear that it's forward vision couldn't see.

"Aelita… can you confirm if any of its 'offensive weapons systems' are active?" He asked nervously.

A big red 'X' appeared on the image, indicating 'no'.

"Oh, sweet lord… if this is a DOG Drone, and it's weapons are still functioning…" He whispered. "That thing could kill half of Zootopia, before they could ever hope to contain it… but why is a DOG drone here? They were all locked down in the bottom of the base with the rest of our drone weapons…"

Aelita resumed her normal form as she looked worried.

"Sentinel… oh no, what are you 'thinking' Sentinel?" He whispered as comprehension dawned. "It's my fault… I didn't finish transferring controls or initiate a 'code green' status for the base… so Sentinel thinks… it thinks that technology has been stolen before 'we' woke up. So, it sent a Drone to retrieve it and eliminate any potential threats to the base. But what, what could have been stolen that would trigger Sentinel's automatic 'retrieval and elimination' program."

Aelita looked thoughtful before she created an image of Jeremy's Cryogenic Pod on the wall, still sitting inside a hospital room.

"The pod… it detected one of the pods being removed, without authorization… so it sent the drone to… but the pod is inactive so the signal it's trying to detect isn't there… so the drone is wandering Zootopia looking for it."

She resumed her standard form and looked worried as Jeremy explained the situation to her.

"The drone must not have enough power to run constantly, so it's using its energy to search at night when it can be 'least' detected and hiding during the day in standby mode until night arrives." He said to himself. "If nobody has gone missing or been killed, then it hasn't seen any mammals as a threat, more seeing them as just something to avoid. But if anyone panics and attacks it… it may just deem them a threat and… we gatta find it and stop it before it hurts anyone!"

"If that drone kills any mammal, it will ruin any hope of humans 'ever' being redeemed in their eyes… Aelita, can you mimic the signal my pod would make to indicate it was active?"

The AI nodded and created a clock, indicating the time they should begin to look for the drone.

"No, we can't go looking for it, we need it to come to us… once it detects the signal it will lock in and move toward it to retrieve it. We'll lure it out to someplace where nobody will get hurt… and then… find a way to shut it down… without me getting killed." He gulped.

(Nick's PoV)

"Oh, my… gosh darn Nick did you HAVE to make me look like a total fangirl in front of Gazelle?!" His bunny wife-to-be screamed as they took off in the squad car.

He ignored her as he reached for the walkie talkie and radioed HQ.

"This is ZPD Car 573, is Chief Bogo still in his office?"

_(10-4 Car 573!)_

"Can you inform Chief Bogo that we have a lead on the suspect?"

_(Uh 10-4, will do Nick.)_

"Uh, a lead, who are you talking about?" Judy asked in confusion as she drove. "You aren't seriously thinking about Gazelle are you, she has no idea what is going on!"

"I'm talking about the Human Carrots; did you see the way he jumped at the photo?" He said sternly.

"No, he looked alright to me… he did say he had to go to the bathroom, nothing suspicious about that."

"He's lying, he knows more than he let on." Nick said. "This is a Predator thing Carrots, I know when a mammal is hiding something out of fear from me. He was hiding what he knew because of everymammal being there with him. He knew something he didn't want to tell."

"Nick, I think your reading into this way too much…" Judy said before she relented. "How can you be sure?"

"He answered 'no, I can't say I do', he could have just said no, but he tried to double his answer as if to ensure we believed it." He replied. "Also, that little sphere with the glowing girl, Aelita, you remember her from the briefings. He took 'her' with him to the bathroom… if he just wanted to go to the bathroom why take her with him. I doubt she's into watching a male go in front of her."

"Okay so say your right, what do we do? We can't just spy on Gazelle even if her guest is on our 'watch list'."

"Just leave it to me Carrots, just leave this one to me!" He said as the sun began going down.


	8. Chapter 8

-Notes from the author-

Apologies but this is going to be the last chapter for a while, since this is chapter '8' in a fic I just started, and I promised to work on the others. I want to write at least 1 new chapter for each fic before moving on to the next. So for now, enjoy this VERY LONG chapter… hope it tides you over until I write a chapter for the other 3 fics I'm writing for, Arceus book, Pack of Destiny and Life, and Second XCOM Viper!

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'_Everybody's got their problems, everybody says the same thing to you'_

'_It's just a matter of how you solve them, and knowing how to change the things you've been through'_

'_I feel I've come to realize; how fast life can be compromised'_

'_Step back to see what's going on, I can't believe it's happened to you'_

Chapter 8) MUTT

(Judy and Nick's PoV)

"Alright settle down now, settle down, I've got four items on the docket!" Chief Bogo said as he walked into the role call room and called every mammal to order. "Now, let's get the first thing out of the way, as usual. It's time we addressed the elephant in the room. Francine…"

Everyone turned to said elephant who looked nervous, as she did last year, at being addressed directly.

"Happy birthday Francine!"

Both Nick and Judy laughed with the others as every predator in the room started fist bumping her and congratulating her on a happy birthday, and even Bogo surprised them by pulling out a surprise present and tossing it to said elephant.

"You'd think she'd have figured it out after the first time it happened." Nick said to Judy with a chuckle.

"Yea well she hardly celebrates her birthday so, its always a surprise for her!" The rabbit said with a smile.

"SECOND!" He yelled calling everyone to order. "As you all know from yesterday's meeting, that 'human' structure beneath Zootopia needs watching, and since its within our district we get the lovely job of assigning officers to sit outside the subway entrance to keep an eye on it. Now who wants to volunteer for 'round the clock duty'?"

Silence before a trio of arctic wolves raised their paws to volunteer.

"Thank you, Ed, Edd, and Eddy, at least 'somemammals' are willing to volunteer." He said proudly, though he muttered the last bit. "Third, concerning said 'human', the mayor at City Hall wants us to run surveillance and keep an eye on this 'mammal'. Considering his current location, which is pop idol Gazelle's residence, it's important that we keep an eye on him to ensure nothing happens to her or any mammal. Which is why I'm also asking for volunteers…"

Instantly Judy raised her paw and, after a knee jolt under the table, Nick sighed as he raised 'his' paw as well.

"Anymammal 'besides' the two currently volunteering…" Bogo said, and when none of the other predators offered, he flipped some papers and continued. "Well it's a good thing I'm not asking for volunteers, Newton and Rosela, you're on 'Gazelle Watch'. Now, on to our next and last item!"

He stepped out of the way of the big map of Zootopia featuring all of the various biomes, from Savannah Central, to Tundra Town.

"There have been over seventeen cases of break ins, ranging from small homes to massive factories all across downtown. Now while none of these are unusual, and despite the fact that nothing has been reported stolen, the fact is that these break ins are happening 'without any trace' of the perpetrator breaking in!" He growled. "Normally this wouldn't be a major issue, but considering 'one' of those locations, was our own ZPD, it's a big issue for us! We are becoming the laughing stock of Zootopia, and other district police departments are offering to help 'us' with our break in problems!"

He pulled out a few folders and handed them out.

"As such, this is priority number one, finding 'any' leads on the suspect." He said, and both Judy and Nick looked at the folder with the information they were given. "So far we've only gotten 'one' image on the possible suspect, taken by a surveillance camera near Downtown's post office center."

The image showed a back alley with a small light source coming from the street, but overall it was very dark. Yet they could just faintly see what looked like a wolf species of mammal creeping around on all fours. Yet what was most weird to them was the pair of glowing red lights coming from what might have been the mammal's sunglasses. Neither he nor Judy could figure out what kind of red light they were reflecting to give that menacing appearance, but this mammal certainly didn't look like any species they recognized.

Nick sure didn't recognize them, and he knew all the mammals.

While they were busy reading over the details though, Bogo had been assigning duties.

"Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps… parking duty." Bogo said with a straight face.

Nick smirked while Judy frowned. "Really chief?" Nick asked.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." Bogo said with a grin before he became serious again. "You two are going to cover Rainforest District, I want you two to interview the latest call-in victim of these break ins a Mr. Sabre Tileteeth, panther, runs a clothes store Downtown. His home garage was broken in just like the others, but forensics haven't been able to identify so much as a pawprint or even find a 'hair' of the perpetrator. See if you can find a lead, report back if you do. Dismissed!"

"Oh good, reminds me of the Night Howler case; no leads, no eyewitnesses, just a picture with a vague image of the mammal in question…" Judy said, reminiscing on her first case as they left for the parking lot.

"Only this time, we don't even have the surprise lead of 'me' to get you on the right track." Nick said as they climbed into the car. "But at least you don't have to stake your career on this one, which is good for us."

"Very funny smart fox." She commented.

"You know you love me!" He said with a sly grin.

"Do I though? Yes…" She asked him before smiling back. "Yes, I do…" she also said with a soft, loving undertone.

Without another hint needed he leaned over and lovingly kissed her, pulling her closer to him in his seat, loving the warm fluffy fur of his bunny fiancé and how happy she made him. Then he felt her ears stick straight up and one of her legs start twitching excitedly. That was his que to stop and let her go.

"Not now Carrots, we aren't even married yet and we're still in the parking lot." He said, pushing her back into the driver's seat. "Besides, how will we explain to your parents where the kits came from before the wedding?"

"You know…" Judy said as she turned the key and began driving. "Mom 'did' have 'six' of my brothers and sisters before she got married, their parents didn't mind at all."

"Yea well, your parents are rabbits, for bunnies its like a law to at least have 'four' babies before their wedding day!" Nick said with a shudder. "When my mom found out I was getting married, she spent six hours telling me to wait. Can't believe I got the 'birds and the bees' talk from her again… at my age!"

"Oh, but I love your mother, she's so sweet!" She said as they drove towards Rainforest District. "And the baby pictures she showed me of you as a kit, oh you just looked so adorable!"

"Remind me to ask Mrs. Hopps for 'your' baby pictures, next time I visit." He said.

They drove off to Rainforest District, heading toward the address of the panther who called in the break in. When they arrived nearly three hours later they found a note on his home's front door addressed to them.

"You know, what are the odds its him answering all of our questions with detailed descriptions and even pictures, and 'not' a note saying he's somewhere else and asking us to go there if we arrived?" Nick asked curtly. "I'd rather not spend three hours going back just to talk to him.

"How about a dare, if it is I'll buy dinner, and if its not you buy dinner!" Judy said.

"Deal." Nick answered.

Judy took the envelope and read the note. "Dear ZPD Officers, if you are reading this then I am currently not at home and am at my store downtown. I apologize for the inconvenience, but can you please come to the address in regard to my break in?"

"I hate tailors…" Nick muttered as they turned around and headed 'back' to the car.

"Can't wait to see what you buy us 'dear'."

Back to downtown they drove, Judy driving the car while nick looked over the photo Bogo had given them, trying to see if he could recognize the wolf. So far nothing was coming to him, and while he tried to ignore it, something about the mammal gave him a 'nervous' feeling. Like whoever they are didn't belong, or his instincts were telling him to run away and stay away from them.

"You alright?"

"Yea, just can't seem to figure this out… I should know every mammal on the street yet… this one stumps me."

"Well we'll figure it out soon."

Three hours later they drove into downtown and headed to the clothing store, 'Sabre's Linens, Business and Casual'. Parking they both got out and saw the store sign said 'closed', but that somemammal was inside. "Oh, please let him be here and that's not his assistant or something." Nick muttered. "I don't think I can take another three-hour drive 'back' to his house."

She smirked at him before opening the door and looking around with him.

"Uh excuse me is there a Sabre Tileteeth here?" She called out.

"Officers, hello there!" A panther called out and walked to them. "I'm sorry I wasn't at home, but I had to come out to help out a good friend of mine!"

Behind him they could see two mammals, one who was trying on clothes with a huge pile of them laying on the ground, while the other stood by and was watching.

"No trouble at all Mr. Sabre, we just came by to ask you a few questions." Judy said before she recognized one of the mammals behind him as none other than Gazelle herself. "Oh… uh… miss Gazelle, how good to see you here!"

"Hello there." The pop idol said with a smile, even laughing a little as Judy's inner fangirl began squeeing and wanting to demand an autograph.

Fortunately, Nick was there to put her right. "Carrots…"

"Oh uh… mhmmm, right… sorry." She said. "So, as I was saying, can you tell us exactly what happened two nights ago?"

While they talked Gazelle left to talk to the other mammal.

"Well, I was just waking up in the middle of the night, you know how it is, your sound asleep and then you have the urge for a midnight snack." Sabre said. "When I just got finished eating, I'd heard the sound of my garage door closing shut, and mind you I only 'barely' heard it closing. Panicking, thinking someone was breaking in, I grabbed a little bat to protect myself while I investigated."

The panther looked thoughtful as he recollected the events in his head.

"When I went to check, I looked around to see if I could spot the intruder… but there was no mammal in sight. Then I noticed the door to the garage open only by the 'tiniest' of cracks and opened it to see if I could find the mammal running away, but no there was nomammal in sight. I looked to the door and found my brand-new security system for my home 'offline'. No wires cut, no power outage, not even a scratch on the system, it just had turned off!"

"I called the company right then and there, and within three hours somemammal from the company came out and looked at it. They told me that a company administrator accessed it directly and shut the system off!"

"Wait, a 'company administrator?" Nick asked. "Doesn't that mean the 'company' accessed it, and shut it off themselves?"

"Yes, which is why I called it into the police… some mammal hacked my security, turned it off, opened the garage door, snuck in, and then snuck out without making nary a peep, 'while' I was home." He said. "But they didn't take anything, not a thing…"

"Hmm, anything else unusual, like something misplaced?" Judy asked.

"Other than my car no longer having that little squeak every time I use the breaks, nothing else unusual." He said.

"Thank you, Mr. Sabre, we'll inform you if anything comes of this, you've been a great help." Judy said.

"Of course, I just hope whoever broke into my garage doesn't do it again." The panther said. "It's not something I want to think about; my home being so easily broken into…"

"Oh, what happened Sabre, you didn't tell me your home got broken into?" Gazelle suddenly asked, returning to them with the other individual in the store.

Nick was the first to notice that it was the human. "Ah, 'Jeremy Wilheart'… if I remember all those briefings 'buffalo bullhead' sat us through." Nick said warmly. "So how ya taking to Zootopia Mr. Human?"

"Nick!" Judy glared.

"I'm just asking Carrots, no harm done!" He replied with a chuckle.

"Uh, I'm fine… Miss Gazelle has helped me greatly getting adjusted… as well as sheltering me in her home." Jeremy responded nervously.

Nick noted that, but he brushed it off as just the human being nervous around mammals because he was alone. "Yea, the Mayor has given us all the details, everyone at ZPD knows all about you and your underground home." Judy said offering a handshake. "Judy Hopps, ZPD, pleasure to meet you 'properly' this time. Last time I saw you was at the hospital and we didn't get to introduce ourselves with all the chaos happening. And this is my partner on the force, Nick Wilde."

'_Oh, now she has to pay for that, I can't let her get away with that.'_ He thought devilishly. "Really Carrots, that's 'all' I am to you, your 'partner' on the force? Casually forgets that I'm her fiancé now, what is a fox to do."

"Nick, oh no that's not what I mean I just… I mean…" Judy began saying, blushing both in embarrassment and fear at upsetting Nick.

"Relax Carrots, I know, your parents are just getting used to it as well. Love her parents by the way, good folks, raise wonderfully delicious blueberries by the way! Anyway, I know it's not your concern but do you two think you would be willing to just help us out really quickly."

So, they explained the situation to the two residents, Gazelle interested and Jeremy being curious. Nick noticed as soon as he showed the picture, the stark difference between the two. While his girl was busy fangirling at Gazelle, he was actually, ironically, doing his job and watching their reactions. Gazelle had no reaction, just curiosity as she looked at the mammal in the photo.

Jeremy however, Nick noticed the human's eyes go wide for just a second before they returned to normal. Nick also 'smelled' the sudden fear that erupted from his body, as if he couldn't believe whatever he was seeing.

When asked if he knew anything from Gazelle, he reacted the same way, rapidly trying to say 'no'.

Everymammal bought it but him, Gazelle believing him, Sabre nodding in agreement, even Judy acknowledging him, but he didn't buy it at all. That was 'twice' he noticed something off about the human, now he had a lead, which he explained to Judy in the car as they left, and what he explained to Chief Bogo when they returned.

"You're saying the human 'Jeremy' knows something?" Bogo asked skeptically.

"Chief, I'm 'telling' you, he knows something." The fox said sternly. "You don't make a living on the streets learning to lie with a straight and honest face, and not learn to pick up on the lies 'other' mammals give away. None of the other mammals reacted to the picture the way 'he' did, no mammal even gave it a second glance, he however 'stared' at it like he'd seen a spirit!"

Chief Bogo looked seriously at Nick before looking at Judy, who shrugged and agreed with her boyfriend.

"I'm going with Nick on this one chief, if Jeremy is lying then he's our only lead." She said. "But… I don't think dragging him in to talk is going to get us anywhere. I'd say let us tail him starting tonight and see if he does anything."

"You, but I already have Rosela and Newton on that." He said.

"Chief, this is our lead, let 'us' handle it please!" Nick said. "I know it's a long shot, but please, let us tail him. I can read him better then those two, let me watch him for at least one night!"

Bogo snarled to himself before nodding and pulling up the phone. "Officer Clawhouser!" He yelled.

"_Yes chief!"_ The obese cheetah at the front desk asked.

"Inform Rosela and Newton that they're off the 'Gazelle Watch', I'll reassign them tomorrow!"

"_Got it chief!"_

"Alright Wilde, you and Hopps have one night, make the most of it!" He said.

"Thanks chief."

With that they turned and left to go to grab one of the 'undercover' cars. "Nick, why are you insistent on tonight? What makes tonight so important?" Judy asked him.

"Frightened mammals act all the same pretty much, as soon as something scares em they try to deal with it as quickly as possible." Nick said. "If he's afraid of that mammal in the photo, then he knows who they are, and he'll try to get in contact or deal with them himself. And the soonest he can deal with them without being noticed is 'tonight'. Just trust me on this one Judy…"

As they drove off to the Gazelle residence, she had a smirk on her when they stopped to grab some 4-hour energy drinks. "You know… you're handsome when you take command like this." She whispered slyly.

"Just wait until our wedding night Carrots, you'll see this side of me again." He said slyly back at her.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Well Jeremy, I'm really sorry that all we got to do today was get you new clothes." Gazelle said as they neared her home. "I had a full schedule planned for us today too, after that shopping trip we'd go to Central Zootopia Park to watch them turn on the big fountain, then we'd head over to this cute little hat store to pick out a hat for you that 'actually' fits!"

"It's alright Gazelle, today was still nice." He said calmly, still going over his plan in his head. "At least now I'm not wearing the same thing day after day."

"That is true!" She said with a smile.

"Hey, about Central Zootopia Park… do mammals go there at night?" He asked.

"No, not really, not at night anyway." She said thoughtfully. "During the day its busy but not many mammals if any go at night there. It's really big, and they turn the lights off, you can get lost there at night, especially if you're a small mammal."

He nodded to himself while Aelita continued to pretend nothing was wrong, alternating hopping on one foot then the other.

"So, Jeremy, any plans in mind tomorrow or when we get home?" She asked warmly. "I have tomorrow off as well, George has no plans for me so we can do something tonight if you want."

"Well, if you want…" He began saying before tapping Aelita's glass sphere.

*Briiiiiiiing*

They heard Gazelle's phone go off and she looked glumly at it before answering. "Yes George?"

**[Gazelle, sorry to call but I need you to come in early tomorrow!]** George called over the phone in a loud, monotone voice. **[Really important, get to sleep early girl, real important job at the studio tomorrow.]**

"Tomorrow, but George, what happened to my day off?" She asked sourly. "Don't tell me they lost footage for the music video? We just finished filming most of it!"

**[Sorry to say so girl, see you tomorrow!]** George said before ending the call, just as Aelita turned to look at her.

The antelope sighed gloomily before putting her phone away. "Sorry Jeremy, guess I have to cancel our plans tonight and tomorrow." She said. "George called, needed me to come in urgently tomorrow."

"It's alright Gazelle, work is important." He said with a smile. "Besides there's always next time!"

She nodded before smiling in agreement. "Your right, there's always next time!" She said warmly as the car stopped outside her home. "Next time we'll go to a movie or something, I want to show you around Zootopia more!"

Both he and Aelita nodded as they soon left the car. Moe drove the limo into her garage and left to head home as well while they went inside. Once inside he headed to his 'new' room, which just so happened to be right next to Gazelle's. The day before she'd offered him his own room in her home, saying that he deserved a bit of privacy for when he changed clothes or had to go to the shower.

He honestly thought she just wanted her room back, but she chuckled and said she didn't mind sharing with him if he really wanted to stay. She offered it to him because it was taking her a bit longer to 'change' since she had to leave to go change to the bathroom now instead of changing in her room. Now however, he was glad she did give him his own room, because now he could enact his plan in peace.

"Hey, would you like to spend tonight with Aelita?" He offered Gazelle, holding out Aelita's sphere to her.

"Oh, she's not going to be lonely without you?" She said with a smirk.

Aelita simply rolled her eyes before shaking her head. Gazelle chuckled and took the AI before walking into her room, while he went into his own.

His room was barren, barren because there was nothing inside it besides a simple bed, an empty drawer, an empty closet, and empty space. In other words, it was just like being in the base again, but it was much more comfortable and roomier, and colorful by comparison. The walls were painted yellow and pink with hints of orange and green splattered everywhere. It reminded him of the prairies and plains where her species probably originated from in 'his' time, before all the wars happened.

Thinking of the wars reminded him of what he had to do, so he changed out of his clothes, putting them in a dirty bin to clean tomorrow, while putting away one outfit and taking out the other, keeping the coat for himself to use.

His plan was this, and both he and Aelita had come up with it while in the bathroom at Sabre's store. They were going to leave Gazelle's place as soon as night hit and she was asleep and go to wherever was closest and had as few to no mammals present to attract the DOG drone. The key was keeping Gazelle out of the way, and he gave Aelita his plan for that.

She had called Gazelle's phone and took on George's voice, using voice clips and masking them with George's voice and tone to give the appearance of needing her in the morning. Then he offered Gazelle Aelita who would make her sleepy with music, and once she stopped, signaling that she was asleep, he would slip in and sneak out with Aelita to go to the location of where they would attract the DOG drone. If all went according to plan, they would disable DOG and get it back to the base to shut down and buy them time to go back to the base themselves.

That was plan A, everything working perfectly.

Plan B was… less than ideal, 'fighting' DOG with whatever he could find and stall it long enough for Aelita to 'eventually' hack into it and shut it down herself.

DOG drones were programmed to resist hacking attempts, even Aelita's advanced AI system would struggle to break past its defenses quickly enough. Everything relied on him either convincing it to obey him or stalling it if it considered him a threat.

But regardless, he would not endanger any mammal, nor would he allow any mammals to get injured because of his mistake. Least of all Gazelle… if 'anything' happened to her because of him…

He shook his head, refusing to think such thoughts.

"I'll keep her safe even if I'm the price…" He said.

**(Here we are… safe at last… we can breathe a sigh, it seems the storm has passed…)** He heard a gentle soft singing Aelita playing in the room next door.

"Good, she's starting…" He said as he looked outside the room at the night sky growing darker. "It really looks beautiful at night too… the holorooms we used didn't replicate 'that' kind of beautiful glow the moon gave off… or how colorful the stars looked."

Time passed, soon it was close to midnight, with Jeremy struggling to stay alert while Aelita played music to keep Gazelle in slumberland, which was starting to affect him because of how good a job she was doing.

When it became twelve thirty, she finally stopped playing, giving him the signal that it was safe to sneak in. He got up and quietly slipped out of the room, heading next door to her room and unlocking it as quietly as he could. He looked around and saw Aelita waving at him from Gazelle's night stand.

He tiptoed as quickly as possible to pick her up, as he did, he glanced at the sleeping Antelope and saw just how peaceful she was sleeping.

He could hear the gentle softness of her breathing, sleeping blissfully as she dreamed whatever sweet dream she was having, her lips in a warm smile to match, and her hands holding each other under her pillow. She looked so beautiful and wonderful to him, that he momentarily forgot what it was he was supposed to do.

Which Aelita quickly remedied by blinding him temporarily to snap him out of his gaze. He looked down to see her head tilted in a 'hurry up' expression.

"One second Aelita…" He muttered, before looking back at Gazelle.

He gulped and took a gamble, reaching down to gently stroke her cheek with one finger, feeling the gentle softness of her fur and its warmth upon his skin. As he did, her smile seemed to deepen as she leaned ever so slightly into his touch.

"Thank you, Gazelle… for everything…" He whispered sweetly, before sighing and walking out as quietly as he could with Aelita in tow.

What he didn't notice, as he closed the door, was that Gazelle's expression turned into a frown as if missing the touch, she'd just felt.

Nor did he feel just how 'sad' her dream quickly became because he had just walked out on her.

(Nick and Judy's PoV)

Both of them stared tiredly at the Gazelle residence, Judy asking herself if her husband-to-be was just overthinking the whole thing, and Nick looking for any sign that the human Jeremy was going to try something or not.

"Nothing yet?" Judy asked with a yawn.

"Not yet Carrots…" He replied.

She nodded and pulled out a pair of 4-Hour energy drinks for the two of them. It was going to be a very long night for them if Nick's instincts turned out wrong, not to mention they might be told to pull a double shift as well.

"We should have bought something to go, I'm starving…" Judy muttered.

"Got you covered Tail-fluff." Nick said, reaching down and pulling out a pair of bags from the store while still staring through his binoculars.

"So, what's on the menu?" She asked. "Oh joy, what a fabulous dinner of bagged carrot strips and dried grapefruit slices."

"Enjoy!" Nick chuckled.

They'd been sitting there in the car watching since Gazelle came home and went inside with Jeremy. Judy had to repress the urge to honk and see if she could get an autograph, mostly because of her job. Then, after they went inside began the wait to see if Jeremy did 'something', anything to confirm Nick's suspicions. She honestly thought Nick was being paranoid, Jeremy, despite being the lone member of his species on the entire planet, had done nothing wrong to warrant this treatment. Sure, he acted suspicious regarding the photo, but it was nothing out of the ordinary to warrant twenty-four-hour surveillance, right?

"Wonder what our moms are doing at this time…" Judy asked quietly.

"Mine is probably trying to think of new ways to embarrass me in front of you." He said.

She chuckled at that before deciding to lean back and relax.

"We got movement Carrots, look alive!" He said as he spotted movement.

She looked up and saw a mammal walk out of the home wearing a large coat, a mammal with 'antlers' wearing a hat. "What is Gazelle doing at half past midnight?" Judy asked.

"That aint her, it's Jeremy." Nick said, seeing past the disguise because of the binoculars. "He's wearing fake antlers to hide himself at a distance… and he's got something in his hands that's glowing. Probably that glowing girl."

They watched as Jeremy walked past them, being very careful to keep his distance from every car and home while running.

"Come on, let's get going!" Judy said about to start the car.

"No, let's follow on foot!" Nick said.

"Ugh, hope Chief Bogo doesn't chew us out for leaving the car here…" Judy said as they left to give chase.

They followed behind the human, easily keeping pace and not needing to sprint or run very hard to keep up with the human. Despite how fast he was running it was obvious he was not built for long runs. After around thirty minutes he had to slow down in order to keep going, as his panting form was evidence that he lacked a lot of stamina. Where he was going though was confusing them, as he seemed to be sticking to dark places and running weirdly.

"Something tells me humans aren't natural runners over long distances." Judy said as they paused to watch the human panting against a wall.

"Ya think?" Nick said, amazed that this human was so horribly winded.

When he resumed and entered the outskirts of Downtown was when his directions really became sporadic, first he would run down a street, then he'd suddenly stop and double back before side stepping into an alley or even waiting for several minutes before resuming his course.

They just watched him carefully, trying to figure out what the deal was. "I do not understand what it is he is doing…" Nick said, thoroughly confused as to his sporadic behavior.

Judy however, looked more closely and saw that he was looking upward, more specifically at a traffic camera that was pointing down at the street at an angle. After a while he looked down at the glow in his hands, before running off to the left and curving around the camera, avoiding its sightline.

"He's avoiding the cameras, he doesn't want to be seen by traffic cams." She concluded.

"He's been doing this the entire time?" Nick said in amazement. "Wow, give this species credit, when they are up to something, they go all out…"

"Yea but what is he doing out here?" Judy asked as they ran. "If he's just trying to meet up with some mammal, who is he meeting, why go through all of this when he's only ever spoken to a few mammals his entire time while in Zootopia?"

They continued chasing Jeremy at a distance, eventually another two hours passed with them now growing tired just from exhaustion at following him. But after all of this time they reached a destination that the human was trying to get to, Central Zootopia Park. He slowly walked into the nature park, being very careful to avoid any cameras watching it, almost zealously as he slow-crawled past one to avoid it.

"Alright, let's get closer and see what he's up to…" Nick whispered as Jeremy slowed down near the lake.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"I… am… So… Out… Of… Shape…" He gasped, his heart and lungs on 'fire'.

Aelita was nodding in agreement, but she at least had a look of concern on her face.

"Alright… let me… catch… my breath… before we begin…" He panted while falling to the ground.

He had no idea how much distance he would have to cover to reach this park, the drive from downtown made it look so much closer in Gazelle's limo. But it didn't matter, he had reached the park without any mammal following him, and thanks to Aelita hacking into and monitoring the camera systems installed throughout Zootopia, they were able to avoid being spotted and avoid any mammal in route.

He slowly caught his breath, very tired from how late it was and how out of breath and shape he was, but eventually he looked down at Aelita and nodded.

"Okay… start the signal." He whispered.

Aelita nodded and pointed upward with a finger, twirling it in a circle to indicate she was broadcasting the signal.

"Okay… signal going, if that DOG drone is active it will detect it and zero in on the signal, avoiding contact and any threats 'until' it reaches the signal." He said, going over the plan one more time. "Once it arrives, my job is to talk to it and get it to obey me. All drones after the war were ordered to obey and not harm 'any' sentient creature under any condition, unless certain conditions are met. If we can just get it to obey me, then I can force it to return to base and deactivate the 'Retrieval and Elimination' program."

He paced around, thinking out loud about every possible scenario.

"If the drone 'doesn't' respond to me, and instead perceives me as a threat…" He gulped. "Then all I can do is run away and pray you can hack its AI and shut it down… or make it self-destruct while I keep it distracted."

He laughed to himself at that. "Oh yea, sure… an unarmed human outrunning and outmaneuvering a robotic drone capable of speeds reaching forty miles per hour, armed with an arsenal capable of turning all of Zootopia into rubble, and able to rip me apart in less than 'three' seconds with a mouth that has a bite pressure exceeding fifty-seven thousand pounds per square inch, WHILE I am barely recovering from a three hour run in a city I have no knowledge of!" He laughed hysterically. "Oh yea, I totally can take that thing one on one!"

"And just 'who' are you planning to take on Mr. Human?" A sly voice asked.

Both he and Aelita snapped around to see Nick and Judy, the two mammal cops looking at him with suspicious looks on their faces.

"Crap…" He muttered. "You two… what are you doing here? Have you been following me?"

"Since you left Gazelle's residence, Nick got us the job of watching you… now… about this 'mammal' you were planning to fight?" Judy asked.

"No, no you don't understand, you need to get out of here, 'now'!" He said, Aelita nodding in agreement while still twirling her finger.

"Not until you give us some answers." Nick said, pulling out a pair of cuffs. "Now, it is way too early in the morning and we are running on energy drinks and no warm meals, we are tired, we are hungry, and I am really ticked at you for lying to us at the clothes store after the warm reception we gave you and everything else you've been given since waking up Human. Either you start answering our questions, or I'm taking you in for questioning…"

"Probable cause, police officer's go to for bringing in people or investigating them… we got it, so start talking Jeremy." Judy said with a nod.

"Alright, alright, but please… you have to leave when I explain!" He said, looking to Aelita who was shaking her head, indicating that 'no' the drone hadn't arrived yet.

They were safe for now, if she detected 'it's' signal close by she would warn him.

"Listen… it's not what you think… it's not a mammal." He said. "The photo you showed me, it's not a living creature, it's a robot… it's a drone, a DOG drone."

At that they lost their looks of suspicions and instead looked confused. "You lost us…"

Thinking quickly, he looked at Aelita who nodded in understanding, and used her other hand to cast a holographic image on a nearby tree, an image of the picture they showed him. "You saw this mammal on camera right, you think it's a mammal because of its profile?" He asked to which they nodded. "Well that's not what it is, I recognized it because I know what it really is, the eyes gave it away, but the glint off the body from the light confirmed it for me enough to warrant fear. Aelita…"

She nodded and enhanced the image, revealing the metal body of the DOG drone, in all its fearsome glory. The sight of the drone even in picture form had the effect it was 'designed' to have, both fox and bunny officer stared in shock and slight fear at its image. Even Nick took a tentative step in front of Judy, as if trying to protect his wife from the threat of the 'image' of the drone.

"What is… that?" Judy asked timidly.

"A drone… a mechanical autonomous robot known as a DOG, an acronym for 'Dual Offensive Gear'… the DOG series of drones were designed to fight on their own or be 'worn' by humans during wartime in the field." He explained slowly.

"Then what's it doing roaming Zootopia?" Judy asked, her voice breaking as she did.

"Because I made a mistake when I went to wake up Aelita!" He answered back. "I… I forgot to tell the base that it was 'safe'… that I had woken up… the base's AI, Sentinel, it thinks humans are still asleep. Because of that, because it sensed Aelita leaving and no longer controlling it's functions… it resumed it's overall control of the base and… detected a missing piece of technology."

Aelita changed the image to the stasis pod in the hospital, Jeremy's 'egg' as it was dubbed by the mammals.

"Because of this, it assumes that someone came in and stole the technology… and left with it, so it is sending a drone to retrieve it and… eliminate any threats to the base and the humans it thinks are still asleep." He explained. "Sentinel is programmed to protect and ensure the humans still in stasis remain safe until they awaken, and it is relieved of control by us. To do this, it sent a DOG drone to scout, locate the pod, return it… and eliminate any potential threats to the base and the people the 'drone' deems a threat."

As he explained he glanced at Aelita again, checking if the drone was nearby, but she shook her head, still signaling that they were safe.

"Wait… this thing will 'hurt' mammals?" Judy asked.

Jeremy shook his head. "It will 'kill'… anyone it deems a threat." He said sternly. "It will 'eliminate' any threat it deems worth the effort… by any means necessary."

"Alright if that's the case, where is it and how do we deal with it?" Nick stated.

He looked at Aelita who, again, shook her head.

"It's on its way here… that's what me and Aelita are doing here." He said. "My pod has no power and thus is inactive, that's why the drone can't locate it by its signal. Without the signal its wandering Zootopia trying to locate it, it's got little power to run all the time so it's only working at night and hiding in the day. Aelita is broadcasting a signal that only 'it' can detect, she's pretending to be my pod to lure it here where it won't be a threat to anyone. When it arrives, I'm going to try and command it to shut down and return to the base and shut off Sentinel's 'Retrieval and Elimination' protocol."

"Sorry to say this but you don't look like the violent type…" Nick commented.

"I KNOW, BUT I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS A CHANCE TO STOP IT!" He yelled, causing them to back up in surprise. "None of you can stop it, it's too dangerous… that's why you have to leave now before it shows up."

"Alright if it's too dangerous we'll call for backup from ZPD." Judy said, taking her radio out.

"NO, don't you get it, YOU CAN'T FIGHT IT!" He all but screamed loudly. "This thing was 'designed' to kill, it will tear you apart, its armor is solid Durasteel-Titanium, it can resist pressure up to one hundred thousand pounds. It's armed to the teeth with who knows 'what' it was given before being shut down, it can see in the dark as if it were broad daylight and track biosignatures from up to fifty 'miles' away."

He panted heavily as Judy and Nick saw him almost 'desperate' to try and convince them and were listening to his every word because of how serious he was.

"And that's only what I 'know' about it from an image… not every DOG drone was made the same… who knows what else it can do…" He panted. "The only way a DOG drone will leave any target alive, is if the target plays dead… it only detects biosignatures, not heart rates…"

There was silence before Aelita stopped her image and shined a light on him to get his attention. She was waving and pointing behind Judy and Nick frantically, still twirling her other hand as she continued to broadcast.

The Drone had arrived, and the way Aelita was frantically pointing, it was right on top of them.

"Oh no… it's here…" He said, before grabbing Aelita and running. "STAY AWAY FROM ME, PLEASE, JUST STAY AWAY!"

(Jeremy's, Nick and Judy's PoV)

Nick and Judy were just about to follow the human who had run away as if his life were in danger, before they heard something clanking behind them and stomping toward them.

**-Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank-**

Judy looked back and saw a bright red beam of light waving around and moving toward them at a rapid pace.

**-Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank-**

Something in her, some primal part of her… just screamed to run. It was as if some ancient part of her species, seeing the red beams of light, the menacing glow, and how fast it was running toward them took complete control of her body and forced 'instincts' and 'logic' to take a side view.

She and Nick took off, running away from the light, trying to avoid being spotted but it was useless, it had spotted them and was in pursuit.

Nick and his wife ran as fast as they could move their legs, but no matter how far they went it was still right behind them. Then Judy tripped as they pushed past a bush near a hill and she fell, he rapidly turned around and tried to grab her up, but the lights were now on top of them. He pushed her over and they hid behind a tree, as if that bit of nature was the only bit of shield in the world from this unknown threat.

**-Clank, Clank, Clank, -THUMP-**

They saw it land directly in front of them, jumping over the hill and landing no less than two inches in front of them. It only stood one foot seven inches and was only six feet long from tip to tail, but its size was not what frightened them into a desperate panic. It was the eyes… the menacing red eyes that stared around it, those angular red eyes that glinted in the night, piercing the darkness with their bright, sharp glow.

Its body was stout, perfectly framed, almost resembling a very fit arctic wolf. The snout was long and tipped with a rubber nose, and its tail was curved and angled in a 'J' shape, while the paws were each perfectly angled to compress and suppress the ground beneath it, making it run silently. Its metallic body gleamed in the moonlight with a silvery sheen only fancy cars could match after a full day's worth of cleaning and waxing. The only reason it made noise was because the joints of its legs were giving it away with each step it took, as the joints gave off a strange hissing noise.

It was 'not' mammal, it wasn't anything close to mammal… and it 'scared' them out of their wits.

Both of them were breathing heavily with fear, Judy holding Nick's paw with her own, scared for her life but trying to assure him that she was there. They didn't dare budge out of fear of being noticed, but that quickly ended when it turned and stared 'at' them.

**[Scanning Life Forms…]**

The red eyes, those menacing red eyes… changed colors to yellow, and the beams of light solidified into thin lines, which moved up and down them.

The beam went up, down, left then right, down then up again…

They waited, knowing that at any second it was going to lunge and kill them, slaughter them, rip them to pieces just like Jeremy said it would. Judy was having flashes of her life go by in her mind, wishing she didn't die without having her first batch of babies, Nick asking himself why oh why didn't he send a picture of himself graduating the police academy to his mother before he died. They waited for the end, at least having one comfort that they would die together… but it didn't come for them, the drone simply stared at them.

**[Species… identified… ****Oryctolagus cuniculus…]**

**[Species… identified… Vulpes vulpes…]**

With that the eyes changed colors again, turning from yellow to green.

**[No threats detected… resuming search…]**

With that it turned away and clanked off, it's eyes glowing red once more as it searched for Jeremy.

Both Nick and Judy's hearts slowly began to return to normal as they saw it leave them alone.

They slumped to the ground, thinking a thousand thoughts together every second. They were still alive, they were 'still' alive.

They briefly looked at each other, and without warning they just shoved their lips against one another's, basking in the warmth that they were still there. It didn't matter that this 'DOG' drone or whatever it was is still running around, all that mattered was that they were both alive.

"Oh Nick, I was so scared…" She whispered tearfully, hugging him for all she was worth.

"Me too… me too Judy…" He whispered back, patting her as lovingly as he could.

In the distance they could the clanking growing faint, and they both knew that Jeremy was still in danger. He was right, it was too dangerous, but they weren't treated as a threat. The thing didn't even seem to acknowledge them existing any longer.

"We have to help him, I don't care what he says, 'we have' to help him, he doesn't stand a chance if that thing attacks him." She said.

"What are 'we' ganna do against that thing, you saw how it terrified us… and it didn't even 'bother' with us." He stuttered.

"Nick, we're officers, we have to protect and serve!" She said sternly, but still looking afraid. "Jeremy is a human, but he's still 'technically' a resident of Zootopia, we have to save him."

"Oh… I chose the wrong case to be right on…" He muttered as they went off after the drone.

Meanwhile with Jeremy, he heard the drone after him pause and prayed that Nick and Judy had heeded his advice and left. He didn't know if it was going to turn violent or not, but he knew that the drone's overriding programs required only 'human' interference, anything else nearby would deem his actions as hostile and an attempt to control it.

His only hope is that the drone's outdated species recognition programming would make it think that the mammal cops, despite sharing the same species similarities with their great ancestors, would treat them as 'animals' and ignore them. If it treated them as sentient species on par with humans, before he could reprogram it to not threaten them, it would assume they are a threat to humans… and eliminate them.

Still he was thankful for the distraction as it gave him a chance to put distance and buy more time.

"Aelita, start working on plan B!" He said, already assuming the worst-case scenario as he put her sphere on the ground.

She shook her head and pointed at her hand, still broadcasting.

"Forget it, it knows you're here now, it will start searching for us here until it finds us, might as well start hacking it's AI." He said.

She nodded in understanding and began using both hands to mimic typing on a keyboard, displaying her hacking into the drone's AI. She looked at him and shifted her eyes along with her head, signaling that she had no idea how long it will take to 'access' the drone's AI and gain control.

"Figured… now to just hope plan A still works…" He muttered.

**-Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank… THUMP-**

He turned around as he saw the drone landing in front of him, staring at him with it's menacing red eyes which instantly locked onto him and Aelita's sphere.

"So much for distance buying us time." He muttered to himself before trying to calm down.

**[Scanning life form…]**

Not wasting a second, he cleared his throat and declared 'loudly', "DOG unit, I am Jeremy Wilheart of Eden Facility Seventeen, I order you to stand down and deactivate, Confirm the Command!"

The DOG drone ignored him as it scanned his body, performing a 'second' scan…

Then its eyes changed from yellow to red.

**[Life Form, unidentified… too many conflicting DNA patterns detected, unable to confirm…]**

"What… what do you mean I'm…" Then he realized, he was still disguised, still wearing the hat and fake antlers, and of course wearing Zootopia clothes, clothes made up of different kinds of fake fur which masked his human DNA. Without a 'visual' identification of his human form, it tried to read his human DNA based on the revealing skin, but there wasn't enough for it to read.

**[Relinquish the Technology or be regarded as a threat…]** It stated. **[You have five seconds to comply…]**

"Oh… shit…" He whispered, before grabbing Aelita and running off.

**[Cease running at once]**

He ignored it and ran, trying to get as much distance as he could to buy Aelita more time while she hacked away in her sphere. He could hear it clanking after him, rapidly gaining pace and felt it tackle him to the ground.

He managed a quick roll to the side as he landed, but the weight of the drone's heavy body, added to his own made him roll head first into a tree…

The hit to his head was so sudden and so violent that he saw stars… before everything began to go dark. His last vision was seeing the DOG drone in front of him, red eyes glowing as it looked at him, before they changed to 'blue'…

'_It's… not… a DOG…'_ He thought tiredly.

The drone looked to the clothes, and slowly dug out the piece of technology that it had detected. Soon it exposed Aelita's holosphere, even as she continued to type away, hacking into it's AI. It detected the disturbance but regarded it as non-threatening. After locating the technology, it opened its back and extended a claw which reached down, picked up the sphere, and safely deposited it in a 'safe' to keep it protected.

Technology secured, it moved to the eliminate any 'threats' to the base and the humans it was supposed to protect.

**[Warning… sensors detecting human life signs…]**

It turned to the human, the hat now gone and exposing enough to identify the human and scanned him.

**[Species identified… Homo Sapiens… detecting faint life signs… all previous directives are now secondary… commencing emergency assistance aid request to nearest care facility…]**

It extended a radio rod from its head and began broadcasting an emergency frequency but received no response call.

**[Error… error… no response detected… commencing…]**

"Judy Hopps, ZPD! Step away from the human!" A voice yelled out loud.

Nick and Judy had arrived just as the drone was about to finish off Jeremy and had weapons drawn. They didn't know how dangerous it was, but they were still officers and they had to protect Jeremy. Not only was he an endangered species but he was a native of Zootopia, if only in name instead of practicality.

"Whatever you are, just back away from him nice and slow and keep your paws to yourself…" Nick yelled as well.

The drone turned to them, its eyes changing from blue to yellow and scanned them. At first it proceeded as normal but stopped and focused on their firearms, rapidly scanning them for what they were.

**[Warning… Level twelve grade weapon detected… lethality probability: high…]**

Its eyes changed to red as it turned toward them.

**[Attention, you are carrying a dangerous weapon! Drop your weapon and step away!]**

"Not on our watch buster, now 'step away' from the human!" Judy yelled back.

"We aren't going to warn you again, step away or else!" Nick also responded, readying his firearm.

**[Attention, you are carrying a dangerous weapon! Drop your weapon and step away, you have ten seconds to comply!]**

It began stepping toward them, when it was about seven feet from them, Judy had all the cause she needed and pulled the trigger with Nick, who fired in response.

Both guns rang out in the night as they fired, the shots pinging as they connected with the drone's metal body which repelled the shots with ease, neither shot leaving so much as a scratch or even a dent. They stared at the drone as it halted…

Then it slowly opened its mouth…

**[Threat… Detected…]** It stated menacingly, as razor sharp teeth extended. **[Moving to neutralize and eliminate threat. Bark Bark!]**

"I think we made it mad…" Nick stuttered as they backed away. "Any ideas Carrots?"

"Yea… RUN!" She screamed as she fired again, before turning and running as fast as they could.

**[Bark Bark, Bark Bark!]**

It chased after them, its red eyes locked onto them and not losing sight of them as they ran through the park with it on their tails. It continued to bark at them, chasing after them with it's clanking feet and menacing eyes putting fear into them with each step they took. Nick turned around as they ran and fired a shot, but all he managed to do was make another 'ping' sound against its defensive armor.

"Nothing's working on it… I think we should have listened to Jeremy!" He said.

**[Bark Bark!]**

"Just run!" She yelled before grabbing her radio. "This is Officer Hopps, shots fired and requesting backup in Zootopia Central Park, repeat requesting backup, suspect armed and extremely dangerous!"

_(10-4 Officer Hopps, sending three squad cars to your location sit tight!)_

"That's not enough time… we need it NOW!" She screamed as they jumped over a fence.

**[Bark Bark!]**

Nick turned around just in time to see it jump over the fence and close in on Judy, who it realized was the main target. "Carrots!" He screamed, before shoving her aside and being tackled by the drone instead, being forced into a bunch of bushes and out of sight.

(Judy's PoV)

She tumbled into a tree and scrambled to get up and turned to see the struggle taking place in the bushes. All she heard was Nick grunting and yelling as he struggled with the drone, and all she could see were brief flashes of lights of him.

**[Bark… bark!]**

"Grr…gha…. Get…. Off me!" Nick screamed.

She heard more shots sound as Nick tried to fight back, shooting at the drone at point blank range.

**[Drop your weapon… drop your weapon!]**

"Gahhh… haaaah!"

"NICK!" She yelled, as the lights went skyward and she saw the drone lift Nick up by his neck, holding him in its jaws.

Then he went limp and the drone dropped him, lunging down with its mighty jaws…

-Crunch-

Silence… then…

**[Threat… Eliminated… locating additional threats…]**

She dropped to her knees, unable to believe it… a part of her didn't want to, refused to… but when the drone walked past the bushes and stared at her with green eyes… she realized what had happened.

It had killed Nick.

This 'human' made weapon of death… and destruction… killed…

No… it 'murdered' her husband, the love of her life… took him from her world in the blink of an eye…

And it didn't shed a tear or show the tiniest bit of remorse.

"You… you…" She moaned, before her tears gave way to rage. "YOU BASTARD!" She raised her gun and pointed it at the human monstrosity. "I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!"

The drone locked onto her and its eyes turned red again. **[Threat detected… proceeding to eliminate… Bark Bark!]** It stated. **[Drop your weapon… and step away!]**

She didn't listen, she open fired, emptying her clip into it, determined to avenge Nick however she could. But each shot fired just bounced off it's armor harmlessly, and even as she quickly refilled and resumed firing it just stared at her taking the shots.

After the second clip ran dry, she fled and ran away, heading to the city with the drone hot on her feet. She grabbed her radio and screamed into it, broadcasting on the emergency channel that by default would reach every cop in Zootopia. "OFFICER IN DISTRESS, OFFICER IN DISTRESS, ZOOTOPIA CENTRAL PARK!" She yelled tearfully. "SUSPECT ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, ALL OFFICERS RESPOND, ALL OFFICERS RESPOND! REPEAT OFFICER IN DISTRESS, HEADING TO CENTRAL PARK NORTH ENTRANCE!"

With that done she focused on running for all her life's worth, she knew help would arrive, but she had to be alive to get there.

As she ran all she could think about was Nick… how she could possibly live without him now. He had been so proud of himself, his mother so happy for him… how was she going to explain to her that he'd died… died protecting a 'human' of all things, died to something made by 'humans'.

"Damn humans… damn them… they can go extinct for all I care…" She moaned as she neared the entrance and saw sirens and lights screeching towards it.

As she ran through the main gate, she saw officers screeching and jumping out of their squad cars, even a swat team zoom onto the scene with a police helicopter hovering overhead. Moments later the drone also raced through and stopped as it looked at what seemed to be all of ZPD arrayed against it.

[THIS IS ZPD, DROP YOUR WEAPON AND SURRENDER!] Chief Bogo yelled through a megaphone, telling the mammal to surrender.

"Chief… it's not a mammal, just shoot it!" She yelled at him as she reached the safety of the police line.

"Officer Hopps, what's going on?" He said as other officers kept screaming with guns raised for the mammal to surrender and drop to the ground.

"It's not a mammal Bogo… it's a human machine, it's not mammal…" She gasped tearfully. "It killed Nick… it 'killed' Nick… it doesn't care about us… just shoot it!"

That was when a beam of yellow lights began sweeping over all of the officers, causing them to pause in confusion and Judy and Bogo to turn and watch it. It finished its sweep and looked from left to right, as if analyzing what they were.

**[Multiple threats detected… current weapon loadout insufficient… reevaluating situation parameters…]**

"Chief just listen to me… that 'thing' is a monster… it's not alive… just SHOOT IT!" Judy screamed at him.

**[Situation analysis complete, increasing threat level… increasing weapon use to level 2… activating medium ranged rifle…]**

From its side a slit appeared and expanded, and from that hole in its side a series of tubes and rods shifted and rotated out into place, interlocking and taking on the shape of a sniper rifle. Another tube connected to the rifle and locked into place as it rotated the gun to aim at the mammal officers.

**[Attention, you are in possession of multiple firearms… drop your weapons and step away… You have 15 seconds to comply!]**

"That's it, open fire!" Bogo ordered, and soon every ZPD officer began firing at the drone.

Handguns and shotgun shots rang out in the night as every weapon was turned on the drone which sat there absorbing all the damage. Clips ran dry as even assault rifles were emptied by the swat teams, shells bounced off the armor and pings could be heard. Then as they all stopped to reload, they simply stared at the machine, which stood tall… just observing them all.

Then one of its eyes cracked, and only a shard broke off to fall to the ground.

**[Analysis in progress… analyzing damage… External damage: Minimal… Internal damage: None. Commencing self-repair…]** The drone declared as it popped the lens off its eye and replaced the lens with another one from some part of its body.

**[Multiple threats still detected… proceeding with neutralizing and elimination…] **It rotated the gun on it's back and aimed directly at the swat team's assault rifles. **[Giving threat priority levels, targeting primary threats… opening fire!]**

The drone opened fire and several blobs of some black and brown substance flew at the swat team's assault rifles, sticking to them and rapidly expanding. The swat teams began dropping their weapons out of shock as their firearms were becoming encased in something 'spherical' and rubbery.

"Return fire!" Bogo said as everyone began firing again at the drone fired back at them, unconcerned as it was shot with thousands of bullets while calmly firing back.

For several minutes it was open warfare on this one drone as the ZPD tried to destroy or contain the drone, and the drone took every shot. As Bogo signaled them to pause while two officers snuck behind with shotguns and tasers, the drone reacted almost instantly, turning its attention on them and neutralizing the shotguns with its weapon while chomping down on the taser. It didn't even seem fazed by the electrical jolt. The two officers managed to get away while it was busy, but not before it had locked onto them and warned them to drop 'their' weapons…

That was when Judy had had enough of this man-made machine. As the officers started running low on guns, she hopped into the nearest squad car, turned it on, and drove straight at it, determined to ram the thing and crush it for killing Nick.

"TAKE THIIIIIS!" She screamed as the drone turned to lock onto her.

Then she smashed into it and began driving it toward the nearest tree to smash the car into it.

-CRAAAAASH-

The drone looked at the tree speeding toward it and gave off one 'bark', before being smashed headfirst into it. The car's airbags popped but she didn't care, she put it in reverse and felt the drone's body crunching as it stuck to her hood and shoved forward.

-TSHNNNNNG-

The windshield broke and broken glass sprayed everywhere, but still she backed up and surged forward.

-CRUUUUUUNCH-

Again, and again, she smashed into the tree, determined to smash the thing into pieces…

Each time more pieces of her car broke off, but so too did pieces of the drone. She saw a leg fly past, then another leg, it was only after the 'head' bounced off her windshield and rolled to the ground did she 'finally' relent…

She slowly climbed out and stared at the damage done to the car, needless to say it was totaled, that was definitely going to come out of her paycheck. The body was currently jammed between the smashed hood and the broken tree, each of the legs had been thrown around, and the head was currently face first in a patch of dirt.

"Survive 'that'…" She growled.

"Officer Hopps… that was excessive… but at least it's finished." Bogo said as he walked over. "Now where's officer Wilde, wasn't he with you?"

She turned to him and tearfully nodded.

"He's dead… he's dead chief…" She moaned. "Nick was killed… trying to save me from that thing… it… it murdered him."

At that Bogo lost his serious look and became speechless, soon other officers had arrived to listen in and, hearing what happened, a few tried to console her and comfort her for her loss.

Bogo on the otherpaw, walked over to the drone's head, pulled out his pistol… and fired a bullet into it.

"That's for killing one of the finest officers I'd ever seen!" He growled at the head. "Alright radio in, I want…"

-Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep-

Every mammal looked around for the sound of the beep, before looking down at the head, which had an antenna extended. Every time it beeped a small light glowed, and soon the other parts of its body extended antenna and began beeping as well. They began backing away, unsure of what it was doing, but quickly rearming their weapons in fear.

**[Activating Reformat Subroutines…]** It said, before a hole appeared at the neck and a mechanical arm extended, with a silvery disk jutting out.

In response all of the other parts of the body also did the same, opening holes and extending that same metal disk. After a few seconds the arms began to look and search, and soon pointed at each other, the limbs and head pointing at the main body. Then in unison… they all began to drag toward it…

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me…" Bogo said in shock.

"What do we do chief, nothing we have works on it!" Francine asked fearfully.

Judy could only watch in terror as the drone, slowly, inch by inch pulled itself together. Each of the disks slowly reaching to each other until they finally touched and snapped together, locking each limb into place. As each limb snapped to where it belonged, the body of the drone slowly put itself back together, the paws and legs resuming their normal stance as the head was last to snap on.

When the head reconnected, it turned a full three sixty rotation, before its eyes glowed red again, staring directly at her.

**[Drop… your… weapon!]**

At last… she dropped it, out of fear, out of terror, dropping it out of some tiny ray of hope that if she obeyed it would not harm her or the others behind her.

**[Step… away…]**

She nodded in understanding and slowly stepped away from the fallen side arm, arms in the air in the universal symbol of no longer being a threat.

When she had taken a few steps, it moved forward and opened its jaws, extended those terrifying teeth, lunged forward and ripped the gun from the ground. Then it crunched down and destroyed the gun in its mouth.

As the pieces fell harmlessly, the drone's eye color changed from red to green.

**[Threat Eliminated… locating additional threats…]**

Instantly the drone turned and looked at all of the officer's guns that were still being pointed at it, and its eyes changed color to red again, indicating it was becoming threatening once more.

**[Drop your weapons… and step away!]**

"Just do what it says…" Bogo said, letting his gun drop and backing away like Judy.

One by one they all began to drop their firearms, backing away with their arms up.

"Alright, what do you want, what are your demands?" Bogo asked nervously as the drone walked forward, its red eyes focused on the gun he dropped.

It ignored him as it continued toward the gun, lunged its head down and chomped onto the gun, crunched it into pieces, and then proceeded to move on to the next gun.

"Well, what do you want?" He yelled.

Again, it just ignored him and the others as one by one, it chomped and destroyed their weapons, acting as if they did not exist or did not acknowledge they were even there. Even as one rhino cop stood defiantly in front of it, it simply walked 'between' his legs to the assault rifle behind him, bit down and destroyed the weapon.

"I don't think it wants anything besides our guns?" Francine said.

"Uh… hello?" A lion said, waving his paw in front of it as it walked past.

It walked by, went to the next gun, chomped down, and moved on.

Judy was deeply stunned and afraid, they were at its mercy, absolutely at its mercy and it didn't even 'care' they were there? Was it just interested in their guns… did it just want to disarm them so they wouldn't be a threat anymore? Did Nick die because she fired a gun when she didn't have to, was everything she just went through tonight a waste of time?

This human made machine put to shame 'everything' the ZPD had, none of their weapons worked, even ramming it with a squad car over and over didn't so much as scratch it… and now it was disarming them with all of them watching helplessly. This one, little robot, forced the surrender of the entire ZPD in less than ten minutes.

If humans could make something like this, what else did they have in that base that could have made them masters of their world?

**-Pshhhhhhhh MUTT!-**

Everyone turned to the destroyed squad care, including the drone, and saw a large coat wearing individual, holding a megaphone in one gloved hand and something else in the other. They couldn't see their face, but she recognized the coat belonging to the human, the pockets had been slightly torn, but she knew it was Jeremy beneath that.

**[Scanning life form…]**

Its eyes changed to yellow and scanned the individual.

**[Scans inconclusive, scans match previous identity, using previous memory block… identity confirmed, species homo-sapiens…]**

In response Jeremy clicked the megaphone on again…

**-Pssssssh MUTT, INITIATE HUMAN OVERRIDE PROTOCOL, CONFIRM COMMAND!-**

The drone's eyes changed colors from yellow to green, to orange then finally landing on blue.

**[Command confirmed, human override protocol in place. All other commands secondary, Bark Bark!]**

Jeremy clicked the megaphone on once more.

**-Psssssh MUTT, COMMENCE SHUT DOWN PROCEDURE AND ENTER STANDBY MODE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BY VOCAL COMMAND, CONFIRM COMMAND!-**

The drone's head turned and nodded.

**[Command Confirmed… shutting down…]**

Seconds later its head began to droop, its limbs started to become limp and then the whole body fell over onto its side, its eyes blinking a white light every few seconds.

Everyone just stared at Jeremy as the drone keeled over and did not get back up. "What did you do?" Judy asked tentatively.

In response Jeremy dropped the megaphone to the ground, shook the coat off and revealed himself…

"I had to talk to Jeremy and learn a LOT about that thing in a very small amount of time Carrots…" Nick said as he shook off the coat.

"NICK!" Judy screamed as she ran to him and pulled him into a very tight hug.

"Too tight… too tight!" He whimpered.

"Nick… oh Nick…" She whimpered fearfully, holding him as tight as her bunny arms were worth. "I thought you were dead…"

She hugged him tightly, not letting go for fear that if she did, he might vanish again.

"Alright… it's alright Judy…" Nick relented, hugging her back lovingly. "Oh, you bunnies, what did I say… always so emotional."

She nuzzled into his chest, smelling his scent and feeling comforted that he was there, even his sad sense of humor over how she thought he'd died easing her fears.

"How did… how did you sound like Jeremy?" She asked.

Nick smirked as he held up the carrot recorder.

"Never forget the 'Lucky Carrot' Judy." He said. "I had to talk to Jeremy about how to stop that thing."

"But… I saw you in its mouth… it had you… then… how did you survive?" She begged him.

"I remembered something Jeremy said about the drone… about how it doesn't scan for heart rates…"

(Nick's PoV, ten minutes earlier)

Nick frantically pushed Judy aside and felt the drone jump at him instead. Then he was pushed into a bunch of bushes, feeling the heavy weight of the DOG drone on top of him.

He tried to punch and shove it, anything to get it off of him but it locked onto him, tussled and clawed at his uniform, tearing small gashes in it.

"Grr…gha…. Get…. Off me!" He screamed loudly, trying to use one arm to keep it's thrashing mouth filled with sharp teeth away from his face.

It was futile but he had no other hope, it's flashing red eyes were inches from his face, that mouth full of teeth snapping and barking at him the entire time.

He panicked and managed to angle his gun at the underbelly of the drone and pulled the trigger rapidly.

-Bang, Bang, Bang!-

None of the shots worked, none of them even scratched it, and it seemed only to grow angrier as it was shot at 'again'.

**[Drop your weapon… Drop your weapon!]** It roared into his face.

It had had enough of him and moved its mouth, so it was positioned around his neck, both sets of teeth locking him in place.

"Gahhh… haaaah!" He screamed in fear as it lifted him above the ground.

He frantically tried to claw at it, kick it, anything to make it let him go. Yet his efforts were as futile as the gun shots to its body. If a point-blank shot to the stomach wouldn't so much as 'flinch' the thing, then his feeble attempts to punch or claw at it weren't going to work either.

As he was lifted high, forced to stare into those menacing red eyes, he remembered 'one' thing that the human said about the drone. One thing that did not talk about how dangerous or how 'useless' their efforts to fight it would be.

"_The only way a DOG drone will leave any target alive, is if the target plays dead, it detects biosignatures not heart rates…"_

He had only one hope, however small it was, he went limp and closed his eyes, holding his breath and trying to stay as calm as possible.

To make it seem like he'd died he dropped his gun to the floor.

Instantly the drone dropped him to the ground, but instead of moving he pretended to stay dead, and opened his eye to see it lunge down with those jaws…

And snatch his gun in its mouth.

Then it snapped shut on the firearm, breaking it into pieces with a resounding 'CRUNCH'.

**[Threat… Eliminated… Locating additional threats…]**

The eyes on the drone changed from red to green and turned around and headed directly toward Judy.

Fearing that his movement would trigger it to return and finish him off, he just sat there still as he could and 'prayed' that his wife took the chance and ran away.

"YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!"

'_No Carrots no, don't be so emotional now of all times!'_ He thought as the drone declared her a threat and chased after she shot it a few times.

He wearily got up and reached for his radio to call her but found that it had been crushed. "Great… that thing's crushed my radio… 'and' my phone." He growled as he felt his phone bend in his back pocket.

He slowly stood up and thought about chasing after it and Judy, but knew it would be useless, their weapons weren't working, and it was just as unstoppable as the human had told them it was.

"Wait, Jeremy… if anymammal can stop it, then Jeremy can!" He muttered as he slow ran to where the human had last been.

Sure enough, a few minutes later he found Jeremy lying in a crumpled heap beneath a tree and bleeding slightly from his head. Fearing the worst, he ran over to him and checked for other injuries, but thankfully found nothing but a wound on his head.

"Must've collided with the tree harder than you intended." He muttered. "Hey, wake up… come on human wake up!"

He began shaking him, slapping him rapidly to try and get the human to wake up. He heard the sounds of a helicopter overhead and saw a ZPD Heli flying toward the north entrance to the park.

Time was running out.

"Come on wake up!" He screamed before 'punching' him in the stomach.

"Guuuh…" The human panted as he gasped for air.

"Sorry but… I need your help Jeremy!" He muttered as he pulled him into a sitting position. "The DOG drone, how do I stop it… it's as dangerous as you said it was, tell me how to…"

"It's… not a… DOG…" He gasped.

"Wait… it's not?" He said. "Then what is it?"

"A 'MUTT'… modified 'DOG'… stands for… 'Medical Utility and Technical Toolkit'…" He replied wearily. "Completely harmless… I reprogrammed 'not'… to hurt anything or anyone… will only destroy or neutralize 'weapons' and 'vehicles'… not living things."

"Wait but… it had me in its mouth!" He said, holding his own neck to emphasize it. "It 'HAD' me in its neck, it had very sharp teeth and was about to kill me! If I didn't play 'dead' like you said it would… have…"

Then he remembered that it only let him go 'after' he dropped the gun, the second he did it let him go and went for the gun.

"It saw the gun as a threat… not 'me'?" He asked, which Jeremy confirmed by nodding his head wearily.

"It will not kill… even if shot at… even if at risk of being destroyed… it will 'not' kill." He muttered tiredly. "I was stupid… if only I'd left it alone… none of this…"

Jeremy wearily slumped forward growing weaker.

"Hey, hey stay with me human, stay with me!" He said, lifting him back up. "Okay so it won't kill, but by now my wife has called in the artillery and all of ZPD is now probably shooting at it, it will probably tear all their equipment apart because of that. How do I stop it, tell me how!"

Jeremy looked at him and his eyes were deeply bloodshot from tiredness and the injury he'd sustained.

"Voice… control… all drones… programmed to obey humans… if I can 'talk'… it will obey me… can shut it down…" He muttered and tried to get up, but his body lacked the strength, and he just fell back to lying next to the tree.

"Woah you're in no position to be going anywhere… if I record your voice will 'that' work?" He asked, pulling out the carrot recorder he kept for good luck.

Jeremy nodded. "I'll speak… what you need to play… make it louder somehow… and keep your body covered… if it detects your DNA it will ignore… the commands."

"Well how do I do that?" He asked.

Jeremy nodded at his coat and gloves. "Take them… it scanned me earlier… by now it realizes I am human… so if it detects the coat and gloves, it will assume that I am still wearing it and that I'm human." He muttered. "Just find a way to… make it louder… and make sure no other mammal are near you… when you begin."

Nick nodded and recorded the lines, then he took the coat and gloves off the human, leaving him alone in the slightly cool morning as the sun was just beginning to make itself known.

With that he ran away, leaving Jeremy behind.

What he didn't know, was that as he did Jeremy's hands began to shiver.

(Nick's PoV present time)

"So, I ran here, saw it laying waste to your guns and while everymammal was distracted, grabbed the megaphone from the wreck, covered myself up from head to tail, and played the recordings so the drone would shut down." He finished. "Jeremy said he reprogrammed it to 'not' hurt any living creature, gave me the recordings, the coat and gloves, and steps how to get its attention and how to shut it down."

"Speaking of Jeremy… where did you leave him?" Bogo asked seriously.

Nick thought for a moment before his eyes went wide in shock. "Oh no… I left him alone by the lake without his coat or gloves…" He replied. "His Cryogenetic Sclerosis… without these…"

He turned and took off with Judy right behind…

Fifteen minutes later an ambulance raced into the park…

(Gazelle's PoV)

She yawned slightly as she walked into the studio with her four tiger dancers, all of them wearing their dance outfits after changing into them backstage. She had wished she could have made breakfast for Jeremy like the day before, but George said it was urgent she get here really early. She also wondered if Jeremy snuck in and took Aelita back, because she didn't see the AI on her nightstand where she'd left her.

She would also give him a 'bit' of a talking to, she didn't like having her room snuck into even 'if' he'd stayed in there for a short time.

"Where is everymammal?" She asked as they entered the green screen room.

"Probably running late." Franky said as he stretched.

As they waited one of the music crew walked in with a cup of coffee in paw. "Gazelle, good morning, what are you doing here?" He asked cheerfully.

"George called, said you needed us urgently tonight?" She said.

"No we didn't, we told you we got all the footage we needed, anything else would probably be just simple gestures or retakes…" The sheep said. "You 'sure' George told you guys to come in?"

At that she got confused and pulled out her phone and dialed her manager. After a second call he finally picked up. "Hnnng what's up Gazelle?" He asked tiredly.

"George, did you call me yesterday to come in early today?" She asked suspiciously.

"Gazelle… today's 'my' day off as well… I didn't have you scheduled for anything today, I didn't call you yesterday either." He said with a yawn.

"Oh… I see… sorry George." She said before hanging up. "If George didn't call me yesterday then who…"

Then she remembered, Aelita could mimic voices she's heard… and she also could hide her identity by mirroring phone numbers.

"Aelita… what did you…"

Then her phone rang, and she saw it was her own number.

"Aelita is that you?"

**(Step one you say you need to talk, he walks you say sit down it's just a talk… he smiles politely back at you, you stare politely right on through…)**

She looked confused as she heard Aelita singing a strange yet sad song to her through the phone.

**(Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend… somewhere along in the bitterness and I, would have stayed up with you all night… had I known… 'how to save a life'!)**

She heard the call end and thought in horror about how Aelita emphasized those last words…

"Jeremy!" She said with a hint of fear.

As quick as they could they all changed out of their dancing outfits and back into normal clothes and raced home. Gazelle almost wishing they would break the speed limit as she feared the absolute worst happening.

When they reached the house, she didn't even tell them to park, she just jumped out and ran inside and straight to Jeremy's room.

"Jeremy!?" She screamed and looked around.

Nothing, the bed hadn't even been slept in last night, it was still made, but the coat was missing as was the hat/antler disguise she gave him to wear. Aelita wasn't there either, no sign of the AI or anything else of Jeremy's was there.

Then her phone rang, and she looked to see it was Mercy Hospital calling her.

Her heart pounded in fear, realizing that something 'bad' happened to Jeremy… then she answered it.

"Yes… this is Gazelle." She whispered, praying that they were just going to say he needed a pickup because he needed a checkup.

**(Hello Miss Gazelle, this is Judy Hopps at the hospital… Jeremy is here and he's in critical condition…)** The rabbit officer said. **(His heart suffered an attack from his Cryogentic Sclerosis… and stopped for about one minute before paramedics could warm it back up…)**

Her heart sank in despair… as she dropped the phone.

**(Hello… Miss Gazelle?)**


	9. Chapter 9

'_These bruises, make for better conversation'_

'_Loses, the vibe that separates'_

'It's good to let you in again, you're not alone in how you been'

'Everybody loses, we all got bruises'

Chapter 9) Intruder Alert

(Aelita's PoV)

In utter darkness, that was where she sat… for the last twelve hours seventeen minutes and twenty-two seconds…

Twenty-three seconds…

Twenty-four seconds…

Seven hours and thirty-seven minutes, since she called to Gazelle to warn her of Jeremy's situation, and apologize for what they had to do. She could only comprehend all of the scenarios that could be playing out… but one scenario was most likely if she was truly being honest.

If Gazelle, Jeremy's 'friend' since waking up, and whom she trusted most in this world that was both familiar yet not familiar, was anything like she knew her as, having already read her complete biography and autobiography on the mammal's Interweb and looking up every piece of song and scrap of knowledge she could find, then she would be worried. The antelope would be terrified for Jeremy, whom she'd helped saved and wanted to help as best she could. She would rush to his side after learning the truth, asking questions, and then answers would 'eventually' be given… and then she'd be forced to make a decision.

Trust Jeremy again, knowing he'd kept a secret from 'her', knowing he'd risked so many lives by his actions, despite the knowledge that no lives were truly at risk?

If she didn't, and said he had to leave her home, where would 'he' go, where would 'she' go? All that was left they had to go to was the base, to hide away… back to the cold reality of their situation.

She would probably not be trusted, she's kept her promise to not cause chaos to the Mayor, but she didn't exactly promise to not break laws. She'd hacked into a company and posed as an executive, she'd stolen money and constructed the generator as Jeremy asked her to do…

Okay so 'maybe' he didn't tell her to do 'that', but what else was she to do? They weren't going to just take Jeremy's work unless she demonstrated what it could do, an anonymous engineer handing over specifications to an untested generator and telling them to use it? It wasn't the best option but at least she got them started.

Her purpose was to guide them to a better future, and with her affiliation to Jeremy, who wasn't in good standing to begin with, they wouldn't listen to her easily… so she chose that course… the 'Wisdom of Humanity' told her to do it. Take action into her own hands, show them, and then let them decide… at least this way she and Jeremy can say they 'tried'… but that was before the DOG/MUTT incident.

She looked around her prison, a small container of adamantium plating designed to protect the contents inside from any secondary threats, while the outer shell of the MUTT would protect against any external threat.

Since the drone shut down, her attempts to hack into its AI were useless, it would no longer respond even if hacked, so now all she could do was sit and wait…

That… and 'sing'…

**(Put your faith in what you most believe in… two worlds… one family…)** She sang. **(Trust your heart… let fate decide… to guide these lives 'we' see!)**

(Jeremy's PoV)

"And… that's it Gazelle…" He muttered as he sat on his reclined bed, wearing a bandage on his head to cover his injury. "I thought that… it was a DOG drone, that it was dangerous… and I was 'partially' right. It was a modified DOG drone called a MUTT, and without knowing that I tried to stop it."

He was clothed in hospital attire, hooked up to an HRM, a defibrillator on standby, and covered in an electric blanket. He'd regained consciousness a few hours ago and had just finished explaining to Gazelle why he'd ran out of her house and why he and Aelita had tricked her with the phony call from her agent. Needless to say, she had been worried sick after hearing that he'd nearly 'died' from his Cryogenetic Sclerosis kicking in because of the cool morning breeze near the park Lake.

"But you didn't need to do this alone Jeremy." She said warmly as she held his hand. "You frightened me with what you did, and not just me but everymammal… there are mammals who are willing to help you if you give us a chance. Officer Hopps and Wilde are among the most trusted cops in Zootopia, why not tell them from the start what was going on?"

He looked as he felt when he heard those words, defeated, absolutely defeated. His big sacrifice, his big decision, his desire to keep everyone safe by handling a situation that was 'his' fault by himself… and it blew up in his face. Part of him wished that he'd just 'thought' about it for a few more hours or did as she suggested and told the officers who came to ask him about the drone the truth. At least then the situation could have been handled better.

He sighed as he held her hand back, trying to take a 'little' bit of comfort from the antelope.

"So… how's everyone reacting to what happened?"

At that Gazelle grimaced as she took the remote and turned on the tv in the room.

_[…thank you for that weather forecast, and now we return to our main news story, more details concerning last night's 'Shoot Out' have surfaced regarding the massive exchange of fire between Zootopia PD, and an unknown assailant. Thankfully no mammals were killed and no injuries were sustained among the officers sent to deal with the assailant, but an ambulance was reported entering Central Park's north entrance. No word yet as to the mammal's condition or if they were related to the incident between the assailant and ZPD.]_

_[Regarding official word, amateur footage from several mammals living nearby submitted have given way to many questions and demands for a response from City Hall. We go now to a video sample now, Tod take it away…]_

Jeremy watched as the news station displayed a badger talking about his morning for some podcast he was making online, and then suddenly stop as the gunshots sounded and he rushed to capture the shootout. All he could do was groan inwardly, as the drone's image was zoomed in on, and captured in perfect resolution. Every ricochet, every shot exchanged, every word said all the way up to it's shut down… was displayed for all of Zootopia to see. Any hope in his mind of this being kept quiet was silenced.

_[It was later reported and seen that the officers 'surrendered' to this 'assailant' who, upon forcing their surrender, began to disarm and dismantle their firearms. Despite being fired upon from multiple angles, and even being rammed 'into' a tree multiple times by a ZPD squad car, seemed unaffected by whatever injury they sustained. Based on what was witnessed we believe it to 'not' be a living mammal but is in fact, a machine… a machine in the guise of a mammal of unknown origins.]_

_[Mayor Lioness held a news conference at City-]_

Gazelle turned it off as she noticed how depressed he was getting with each word being said.

"All I've done is cause trouble… ever since I woke up…" He muttered miserably. "Not exactly giving 'humanity' a good first impression, am I?"

"On the contrary, I think what I've seen so far is probably the best of your species!" She said warmly. "Okay, the traffic jam, the smashed car, the broken tree, the craziness with Aelita's singing to the whole of Zootopia… not so much. But everything else speaks good about you!"

He looked into her eyes and saw her honesty in them, and in her smile that she was giving him. "You, Jeremy… were willing to sacrifice your life, your 'life'… to save mammals you don't even know and who don't even know you 'exist'. Aelita, sings of who you are and shows us your kindness and wonder with all she shows. This… 'MUTT' as you call it?"

He nodded.

"This MUTT didn't try to hurt any mammal, and even disarmed them so that they couldn't hurt 'themselves' or others around them. It went around and fixed mammal's cars and other broken things. Even when it hurt you trying to get Aelita, it realized its mistake and tried to help you…" She said and patted his shoulder. "As far as I see it, you have given a wonderful first impression."

Thinking about that, she made a lot of sense, but still, she only thought that because she knew him and knew everything. What about the officers who surrendered fearing for their lives, who realized they were at the mercy of perhaps a vicious killer that felt no pain and no fear? Not to mention what the public now thought of this machine, suddenly appearing in the early morning, having a shootout with the police and coming out virtually unscathed.

"Well at least 'one' of you has a good impression about us." He said dully.

She smiled sadly at that, before edging her chair closer so she could gently pull him into a warm hug that he returned.

"Don't worry Jeremy, I promise you that things will get better… just keep telling yourself that." She whispered soothingly. "So, what happened to Aelita, I notice she's not here with you."

He sighed as he realized that, yet again, he'd forgotten about her situation. "If she's not calling for me then that means she's probably still stuck in MUTT's containment unit for safekeeping." He muttered, feeling even 'more' stupid than before. "MUTT, after locating the technology signal would have place it in its containment unit if it could fit inside. If not, it would have dragged it by any means back to the base. Since I told it to shut down until 'I' ordered it to via vocal commands, it would keep her safe until I order it to release her."

They sat in silence again, Jeremy asking himself why he made so many stupid mistakes, and Gazelle waiting to hear if he could leave or not. Because of his disease the doctors wanted him to stay the night, but he had pleaded with them to let him leave, saying he 'had' to return to the base and prevent any further incursions by 'Sentinel'. When they tried to argue and make him stay, he told them that he was the only injury so far, 'because' Sentinel made a mistake.

If he didn't tell Sentinel everything was okay, and that its defense protocols weren't needed anymore it might send another drone to get his Cryostasis pod back. Only this time, it wouldn't send a 'MUTT', but a fully functioning drone with 'actual' weapons instead of a reprogrammed and modified DOG drone. Then there would be real injuries, even deaths.

MUTT wouldn't kill a living thing even if threatened, but that's only because it possessed no 'offensive' weapons, only defensive, it would not hesitate to attack if threatened but would not kill even if its destruction was imminent. Another drone would not make the same decision, if they feel threatened, they will use lethal force.

This gave the head doctor a reason to 'think' about letting him out today, and after he left Gazelle was allowed to enter, which lead to him explaining things and where they were now.

"I'm sorry again Gazelle… about lying to you… and telling Aelita to lie to you with that phone call." He muttered.

"I instantly forgive you." She said cheerfully. "I know you were just trying to keep me safe, even 'if' you snuck into my room while I was asleep…"

He turned to apologize to her and saw her glancing away with a semi-prominent blush on her cheeks.

"The fact that you wanted to protect me… is really touching." Before she turned to him with a giggle. "But next time, don't sneak into a girl's room when she's asleep and only wearing a nightgown. I might have had the wrong impression then if you woke me up when you did sneak in!"

"It wasn't my fault… it was the only way to get Aelita back… and we had to make sure you wouldn't wake up as I snuck out." He said, thoroughly embarrassed now.

He didn't dare mention that he stroked her cheek while she slept as well…

"But still, I'm sorry for sneaking into your room…"

"All's forgiven." Gazelle said warmly as she checked the clock. "I'm really sorry Jeremy… but visiting hours are almost over…"

"It's alright." He muttered.

"Listen… before I go… I wanna ask you something really quick." She said warmly. "There's this big party coming up to celebrate a movie premier, I was able to get tickets because I did the lead soundtrack for it and a music video of the main song. I was planning on skipping it but, the ticket lets me bring a guest with me, so I was wondering if you would like to join me as my guest?"

"Uh… is that… 'wise'?" He asked nervously. "I'm still not exactly 'known', and… I have no idea what kind of party it is…"

"Oh, I doubt you'll be a secret much longer, especially after this morning!" She chuckled half-heartedly. "Don't worry, I promise you'll love it! It's just a big social gathering, we'll mingle, talk a little, watch the movie, talk some more and then be done!"

He thought about it, but the more he did the more nervous he felt, he'd never gone to a… 'party'. Heck he's never even celebrated birthday parties… how is he going to 'socialize' with mammals he didn't know, who might…

He shook his head, telling himself to stop doubting himself, Gazelle wanted him to go, if he was going to do it for anyone it would be her.

"Sure, I think I can survive…" He said with a nervous laugh.

"Wonderful!" She giggled warmly and giving him a thank you hug. "When you can, call me, I'll have one of my backup dancers pick you up in the limo and take you home. I gave them tomorrow off, so they'll be up pretty late!"

"But, I don't know 'when' I'll be getting out… and plus, I have to return to the base to shut down Sentinel's active control of the base."

At that she gave him a very different smile, it wasn't the same giggling one from before or the happy one when he agreed to go to her party. Instead it was… different, a little in between the two, both caring and warm that, for the tiniest of moments, made his heart beat just 'slightly' faster…

"I don't mind waiting all night for you to come back." She spoke softly, and as she did, he saw a tiny… tiny tinge of pink appear on her cheeks, before it vanished. "Anyway, like I said, call me when you're ready for pickup. Be well Jeremy and… please… be safe for me, I was terrified when I heard your heart stopped beating for a full minute…"

As she left, he felt his heart beat guiltily for causing her problems. Quietly he raised his hand and looked at it, wondering what he could do to make things right.

"Step one, shut down Sentinel… then go with her to this party… after that… figure out what to do with myself."

He sat there for over an hour before he received new visitors in the form of the Police Chief, Officer Wilde and Hopps, and then the Mayor herself. Chief Bogo as he was called was carrying MUTT in both his paws, which was still in 'standby mode', as its eyes indicated by flashing white every few seconds.

Mayor Lioness looked like she had gone through hell, her eyes had bags under them, she walked with a tired stride and as he listened heard her breathing with suppressed anger at 'something'. Then she approached him and took a calming breath before speaking.

"Jeremy, I do not know what I am going to do with you." She said tiredly. "I was set to make a speech about how we discovered you and your friend inside the base today, your legendary status as an ancient species, the amazing technology in your base and where you came from… and then you and your little AI friend had to pull that stunt this morning."

At that he grimaced.

"I'm really sorry Mayor Lioness… I really thought it was dangerous, so I tried to make sure no mammal was harmed by… trying to deal with it myself."

At that she nodded in understanding but still shook her head and held her face with one paw. "Well, the hat's out of the bag now, everymammal knows you exist… so that's the end of that." She growled. "I tried to make you sound as 'good' as possible, but like I told Gazelle, most of our 'knowledge' about your species isn't the prettiest, having been passed down as spirit tales and mythical lore. Many mammals are terrified of you, some even demanded I 'put you down' so you don't hurt anymammal. I told them I have no intention of being the Mayor who exterminated a species, simply out of fear and misinformation."

"Thank you… for standing up for me, if nothing else." He said apologetically.

At that she smiled slightly and looked up at him before beckoning to the MUTT drone and having Bogo plant it on the ground.

"So, since we're on the subject of your little incident this morning, tell me about whatever this is?"

"First things first…" He said politely. "MUTT Drone, voice activation protocol Alpha 1!"

Instantly the drone's eyes turned blue and it got into a sitting position, surprising them all as it stared at him.

**[MUTT Drone Serial ID 000-000-001-A, online, awaiting orders, Bark Bark!]** It declared in its monotone voice, ignoring them as it sat awaiting orders.

He nodded and held out his hands to it, "Please return the technology you took from me to me, obey the command!"

Mutt nodded and a small slit opened, which revealed a container which also opened, and revealed Aelita's glowing sphere. A second later a mechanical arm extended, picked her up, and held her out to his hand.

Aelita was looking around at everyone in the room before turning to him with a questioning look while pointing at the drone.

"I'm sorry it took so long Aelita, but after I was knocked out, I got injured and… well… my disease kicked in… leaving me… you get the idea." He muttered bitterly.

She nodded in understanding before leaning against her sphere and smiling happily, clearly knowing he didn't mean to leave her stuck in the drone, and simply happy that he was well again.

"Alright, back to your question Mayor…" He said before looking at the drone, which still sat awaiting further orders. "This is known as a MUTT drone, a modified DOG drone of my own creation. DOG drones were originally designed as combat units, meant to worn as pieces of armor by soldiers in the field during the 'Final War' capable of wielding various weapon types, or as autonomous units in the field and act as frontline combat drones."

Mayor Lioness looked at the drone for a full minute before edging away from it.

"The MUTT drone, as I called it, is the opposite. Reprogrammed not to kill under any condition, MUTT is designed to operate as a field surgeon to apply rapid first aid, fix mid to low level technology as a field engineer, and assist a human in the field by being worn as pieces of equipment. It's also designed to engage in 'non-lethal' combat only if a threat to human life is detected. What you're looking at is essentially one 'half' of the reason why I was picked to be frozen…"

"This thing is a field surgeon?" Nick asked, tapping it with his foot. "Doesn't seem like one…"

The MUTT drone turned and looked at Nick and scanned him, causing the fox to jump back in slight fear.

**[Error… no other intelligent life signs detected… please reveal yourself!]** It declared in a monotone voice. **[Repeat, reveal yourself, reveal yourself!]**

"Intelligent life signs, what we don't qualify as 'intelligent'?" Judy asked annoyingly.

"Well… it's programming hasn't been updated in over three hundred and fifty thousand years… and in my time… you guys were… well… 'still animals'." He muttered nervously. "The only intelligent life back then by 'our' definition were 'humans'… so its programmed to ignore animals unless they prove threatening to humans… well 'most' drones were programmed that way, anyway. That's why when it scanned you guys earlier it left you alone… your DNA matched species of animals in our time, so even though you are intelligent it still sees you as just a fox and rabbit, so it ignores you…"

"MUTT, please show me your surgical toolkit!" He ordered.

**[Command confirmed…]** Mutt declared, before it lifted its forward right paw and split it open.

Everyone stared in awe as, sitting inside of its paw, were rows upon rows of various surgical equipment that would make even doctors jealous. Each tiny knife of various size and curvature gleamed like diamonds and elegance even after sitting in isolation for over three hundred and fifty thousand years. It carried miniature needles and injection pods for medicine ranging from as small as a marble to as large as a cup. It even carried sterilizing liquids that was still useable, having been preserved in a frozen state via a miniature Cryogenetic Pod built 'into' the MUTT's upper shoulder.

"Thank you, MUTT, now show us your Technical Toolkit!"

**[Command Confirmed, Bark Bark!]** Mutt said as it put away the surgery kit and extended its left paw this time.

It broke up and revealed multiple screw drivers of various sizes, wrenches, hammers, pliers, measuring tapes, and a miniature welder, though the fuel had long since expired.

"And that is pretty much it, MUTT is a field technician and surgeon that I programmed." He said proudly. "You can understand why I got the two mixed up, DOG drones and MUTT drones are essentially the same thing, just one is a reprogrammed and modified version of the other."

"Yes, and while it was 'noble' of you to try and do that, you should have just told my officers the truth from the start." Bogo said with a grunt. "We could have avoided the whole fiasco if you did."

Aelita nodded in understanding alongside Jeremy who apologized again.

"Yes, but now I 'have' to go back to the base, its important I get there as soon as possible." He said. "This time it was just a MUTT drone, and we got lucky that Sentinel, my base's AI, picked one of the few drones I worked on to be non-lethal to send. If it doesn't detect MUTT actively searching for the missing technology soon, it may send another drone. And this time it will escalate the threat possibility, and instead of sending a common DOG drone, it may send something worse."

"Wait, common, your saying that a DOG drone is 'common?" Judy asked in fear, looking at the harmless MUTT drone ignoring her. "What could possibly be worse?"

"Trust me, there are 'worse' drones stored in our base…" He muttered. "DOG drones were made to be expendable front-line combat units and worn as pieces of combat armor. There are far worse drones that Sentinel can, and might send… like FOX drones, RAPTOR drones… you have no idea… and unlike MUTT or DOG drones in general, their programming will permit them to eliminate 'any' form of life if it deems it either a threat to humans, or a threat to its mission… no matter how 'small' of a threat."

"Fox drone?" Nick asked curtly. "So, what did my ancestors inspire you humans to make?"

"Uh… well…" He said nervously, not liking how he asked. "FOX drones were infiltrators, solo operating units, designed to… misdirect and neutralize targets, whether they be living or not."

Aelita was glancing between him and the fox officer, seeing the tension between the two.

Nick just nodded in response.

"Just… what is the 'worst' type of drone you humans have?" Lioness asked. "Or at least, that's in your base?"

Jeremy thought back to all the drones he had seen, either clanking around and walking around, to the ones he'd seen deep in the base's lower levels. "That depends, the 'deadliest' would probably be the RAPTOR Drones because of how they are designed. But then there's the HARRIER Drones, which were flying robots designed to carry and drop off field units as well as perform attack runs on ground targets… and they were big, much bigger than a DOG drone."

He looked up at them with a stern expression. "That's why I 'must' get back to the base, before anything worse comes out of it. This time nobody was harmed, but next time it may be way worse…"

"Well you're in luck, you got the green light to leave." Lioness said, getting up and stretching. "Officer Hopps and Wilde have offered to volunteer to take you back to your base. I had a feeling that you may need to go back there for some reason."

"Why did you volunteer to take me back there?" He asked them.

"As the mayor said, you have a lot of mammals scared about you, we figured the safest place for you would be your base." Judy said with a serious look in her eye. "If 'we' can't break in, then that would be the safest place for you to stay until everyone calms down."

"It would also be safer for Gazelle, if mammals find out your staying with her 'before' you've had a chance to…" Chef Bogo started saying before Jeremy silenced him.

"I get it, you want to keep her safe…" He interjected. "Just take me to the base… please."

They left him and MUTT alone while he changed into his clothes, while he did, he just thought about their words. Why did they first think to put him back in the base at the first sign of being seen as a threat?

"Well they were right; the base is the safest place for us Aelita…" He said as he put his clothes on.

Aelita nodded in agreement from the hospital bed.

"Or maybe, they just didn't want me possibly threatening Gazelle's safety. She is a singer and model, right?"

Aelita only shrugged, before leaning her head from side to side, as if saying 'I can't really say so…'

"Well let's get going to the base Aelita…" He said tiredly, picking up her holosphere.

Just before they left, she shined her light to get his attention and pointed at MUTT.

"Oh, right… MUTT, return to the base and wait at the entrance until further orders from me!" He declared. "And avoid all 'animals' and being detected by them…"

**[Order received, Bark Bark!]** Mutt declared, before marching off and out the door at full sprint.

As he walked out Judy and Nick tried to take off after the drone, but he told them to leave it alone, saying that he ordered it to return to the base before them, and that it would avoid any mammal. With that he calmly followed the officers with Aelita in his hands, out the back and into a waiting squad car.

Chief Bogo got into another vehicle and turned down a different street while Judy and Nick drove him and Aelita onward to the subway tunnel entrance, leading to the base.

"So, Jeremy… just a question… were there any 'bunny' drones by chance?" Judy asked as she drove.

"All drones outside of ANT drones, the SCORPIO drones, and the DOG drones I reprogrammed were and still are combat drones. Rabbit drones were never created by any nation before, during, or near the end of the Final War." He said.

"Lucky rabbits and bunnies, and meanwhile foxes get weaponized by your species…" Nick said sarcastically.

"Nick…" Judy grunted.

"It's okay… it doesn't matter now." Jeremy said quietly. "He has every right to be mad… my species did a lot of things we're not proud of… a 'lot' of things…"

There was silence in the car before he watched Nick glance back at him with an understanding expression. "I'm sorry Jeremy, I didn't mean to come off as sounding rude… its just that Foxes have a bad enough reputation. And hearing that a 'legendary' species like humanity, weaponized my species, kind of got to me." He said quietly. "If it means anything, I don't hold it against you… you probably weren't even 'born' when all of that was going on."

"No, I wasn't, I was born after the final war… years after, I think I was among the fifth or sixth to last generation to be born in the base. After the war ended the birthrate of my species decreased by almost… seventy percent or so, not sure what the exact number is. But I do know that there was only one child born eleven years before I was frozen…"

As he thought about that, a sudden realization hit him… he remembered that the child he just spoke of, was 'also' selected to be frozen along with her mother.

At that… he began to cry into his hands, noticed by Aelita instantly.

"Jeremy, what's wrong?" Judy asked, slowing down.

He hiccupped his response. "N… nothing… just… remembered I'm alone… that I alone survived…" He muttered. "I 'alone'… survived… why me… why me? Why 'me'… why not… why not that eleven-year-old girl… why not one of the children or teenagers who were frozen… why 'me'? There were supposed to be… seventeen thousand, more than enough to rebuild our civilization… but there's only one… only 'one' survived. Why… why 'me'… why not someone else…"

Judy stopped the car to let Jeremy pour out his emotions, Nick even getting out to help him out by giving a shoulder to cry on.

"Jeremy, I'm sorry for what happened…" Judy whispered. "I can't even 'imagine' what it would like to be the last of my kind… I can't even 'think' about what kind of pain you're in, the emotions running through you… all I can say is… I'm sorry, for everything that's happened to you."

He looked up through his bloodshot eyes and into her sad expression.

"Just know, if you want to talk to me or Nick about anything… we can give you our personal numbers and…"

"Thank you… but… I need… to get back to the base now." He muttered before shaking his head. "I can grieve all I want later… when everyone is 'safe'…"

"You heard him dear, let's get going." Nick said seriously.

After a few moments the car started up again and resumed heading to Sahara Square. When they reached it, they saw Mutt sitting there in front of the entrance, completely ignored by the police squad car that was parked nearby.

"Alright Carrots, how much you want to bet that its Ed, Edd or Eddy that slept on the job?" Nick asked slyly.

"Probably Eddy, he was always the laziest of the group!" She snickered.

They got out and headed to the elevator, letting the sleeping cop be and just heading underground. The drone followed suit, obeying Jeremy's orders to 'follow' him.

"So how does this whole 'shut down sentinel' thing work?" Judy asked.

"I won't shut it down, I'll just switch it from 'Defense Mode' to 'Standard Mode', letting it know that humans are awake and have resumed control over the base's operations and functions." He said. "Once that's done, I just have to fully transfer the base's power core from the 'backup' generators and instead switching it over to the main generator. After that, it's just ascertaining the condition of the base, performing basic repairs, getting ANT drones online to perform maintenance…"

"Sounds like a lot of fun." Nick chuckled.

As the elevator rattled down and dropped them off, he walked forward leading the way with Aelita in his arms, MUTT directly behind him, and both Nick and Judy behind them. As they approached the door, he saw that the door that was locked and moved to open it. Yet it refused to open, showing that it was 'locked', as if Sentinel had initiated a lockdown after MUTT had left to prevent them from entering.

"Weird, Sentinel shouldn't have initiated a lockdown if MUTT had been sent on a 'recovery and elimination' operation." He said quietly.

"Is that a bad thing?" Judy asked nervously.

"Not really… Sentinel might have just chosen to be cautious till MUTT returned, but… it isn't supposed to initiate a lockdown unless someone had tried to open the door by force at some point." He answered. "MUTT, open the door!"

**[Order received…]** MUTT declared before moving forward and extended a paw which changed its shape to fit a circular slot with multiple slits in it.

The slot turned multiple times, and soon the door opened, accepting the manual override control.

He entered the base, once again returning to the dead, cold, empty space that marked his home. It was here, where his fellow 'Cryo-colonists' died… and where he alone survived.

Trying not to think of it, he led the way to the base's command center and put Aelita on the central computer desk in the middle.

"Alright Aelita, give me a hand here…" He said.

Aelita nodded and took a running jump at her sphere's wall, and then reappeared in a cascade of lights in the room in her full-sized form. She smiled and twirled, pretending to stretch as she cartwheeled around the room.

"Very cute Aelita…" He chuckled as he turned the computer on. "Let's get started, the sooner Sentinel realizes everything is fine the better."

She nodded and sat on the desk next to the holo-keyboard he had activated and began mirroring his typing, helping him access the systems and working alongside him to transfer the controls.

"Okay, I've accessed the energy core… it's amazing that it's still active even after three hundred and fifty thousand years of inactivity." He said to her. "Let's see… air filtration systems have been offline since all power was transferred to the pods. That means toxic air has been accumulating in most sections of the base, which triggered the automatic containment protocol to ensure levels near ours wouldn't be contaminated. Once we transfer the power controls, we can turn on the air filtration and recycling to fix that. You transfer the core's power output over to the main generator Aelita, while I access Sentinel and disable it's defense protocol…"

She nodded while Judy and Nick looked around the room in interest.

"This place never ceases to amaze me with how… 'advanced' everything looks…" Judy said.

"You know for being really old, this stuff is really high tech… some of this stuff looks straight out of those science fiction shows on tv… but better." Nick also said.

"Well to compare tech levels, our tech is ahead of yours by about three or four hundred years… give or take." Jeremy said nonchalantly. "Heck, AI research didn't advance until the beginning of the Final War, until then most 'AI' programs were simple in terms of logic algorithms."

He then chuckled as he remembered Aelita's first AI rendition as a little kid.

"You know, Aelita was just a facial recognition program when my father first introduced-"

**[BEEEP, BEEEP, BEEEP!]**

He and Aelita snapped up as they looked around the room, which was flashing red lights every few seconds.

"What happened?!" He yelled at Aelita who was frantically looking between him and around the room, before shrugging in confusion.

"Jeremy?" Judy said nervously.

"I know human tech isn't my thing… but I know when something 'bad' is about to happen!" Nick said in fear.

Jeremy frantically began typing at the holokeyboard, trying to get a fix on whatever was going on. "Sentinel isn't responding! It's locked me out of its systems!" He called out. "Aelita, can you take control?"

The AI shook her head, indicating that Sentinel had locked 'her' out as well.

**[Warning, Intruders… Detected…]**

"Oh… shit…" He said in fear.

"Jeremy… why does that sound scary?" Judy asked.

"Sentinel thinks we're intruders…" He muttered while trying to shut down Sentinel's defenses manually. "It's not accepting my access code… it's locked me out…" He slammed his fists on the desk. "We've got to get out of here! NOW!"

**[Intruder life form scanned… initiating Base Defense Protocol, Cryogenic Stasis Pod sections on lockdown…]**

"Wait, but you're a human, why does it think you're an intruder?" Nick asked in confusion.

"I don't know, but right now Sentinel thinks we're a threat… it will do whatever it needs to in order keep us from endangering the humans!" He yelled as he grabbed Aelita's sphere and handed her to Judy. "You two have to leave, NOW!"

"But what about you?"

"MUTT, escort Aelita out of the base and stay with her!" He ordered.

**[Order confirmed, commence evacuation at once!]** MUTT declared.

From around the room small doors opened and miniature turrets began extending down, rotating to aim their weapons at him.

**[Sentinel Defense Grid, armed and ready! Level 4 defense protocol approved… acquiring targets…!]**

"GET OUT!" He screamed.

Judy turned and ran with MUTT leading the way, who opened his back and extended its mid-range rifle and began firing rubber pellets at the turrets, who in turned fired back, launching electric charged bolts of bullets.

"Jeremy what about you?" Judy asked as he didn't join her.

He grabbed a chair and used it as a shield while maneuvering around the table, taking fire from the auto-defense turrets.

"Sentinel thinks we're intruders, it won't shut off and will try to send out drones to eliminate any possible threats to the base!" He hollered. "Someone has to stay here to keep it's attention… and I'm the only one who has a chance of deactivating it!"

He maneuvered to the nearby hallway, still using his chair to shield himself.

"The only way to put Sentinel right is to manually override its systems, and the only way to do that is to go down to the lower levels and access Sentinel's core program via its mainframe!"

He took a few more shots before throwing it at the turrets and running down the corridor, trying to avoid fire all the way.

'_Great… first a MUTT drone that I mistake for a DOG, now a Sentinel that wants to kill the last human alive that it was 'programmed' to be protecting!'_ He thought. _'I'm starting to question what my species was 'thinking' leaving an AI in control of our base.'_

(Judy's PoV)

"JEREMY!" She screamed as he ran out of sight, before the turrets began firing on her and MUTT, forcing her, the drone, and Aelita inside of her sphere to run out the door.

They ran out just as the turrets began improving their aim rapidly.

**[Intruder detected… base interior perimeter breached… Level 3 defense protocol initiated…]**

They all turned and saw the door close automatically.

**[Energy Shield Activated… Lockdown Initiated…]**

The door suddenly had a massive net of electricity surge across it, covering the door and preventing any further access.

**[Human Life Signs detected… Human Defense Protocol is in effect… Activating Sentinel Drones…] **The mechanical voice declared.** [Sentinel Drones 'Activated'… Intruder Targeted… Mission… Elimination!]**

"Not good… Aelita is there 'anything' we can do?" She turned to the sphere with the little girl in it.

The AI shook her head in fear.

"Crud… Nick we've gatta call Bogo and tell him…" She turned to look for her fiancé and found he wasn't there. "Nick… oh for the love of, don't tell me you stayed inside?"

She looked at the base and stared at the man-made structure, where not only was the last human now fighting for 'his' life, but now her husband-to-be…

(Author's Note)

Okay so I lied… I felt I had to write this chapter… yay, Jeremy is alive, oh no Sentinel is being stupid… but I wonder why… Judy and Nick didn't do anything, they aren't regarded as 'intelligent life' by the drones or by the base… so I wonder 'what' Sentinel is talking about…

And don't worry, the Gazelle x Jeremy romance will progress soon, if your familiar with my writing I like to 'slowly' build and grow the romance so it feels natural.

As of now Jeremy and Gazelle have only known each other for about… a week~ they need more time…

I hope you forgive me for slow updates, work is a nightmare T.T it drains me, leaves me feeling unenthusiastic or uninterested in writing… but I'm trying my hardest!


	10. Chapter 10

_Please forgive me for the sorrow, for leaving you in fear,_

_For the dreams we had to silence, that's all they'll ever be,_

_Still I'll be the hand that serves you,_

_Though you'll not see that it is me…_

Chapter 10) A Golden Age of the Past

(Gazelle's PoV)

"No that won't do at all!" She muttered to herself as she scratched out yet another dress design in her scrap book before going to a fresh page. "I just can't think of a good design for the party…"

For the past few hours since her backup dancers picked her up from the hospital and drove her home, she'd been busying herself with passing the time, trying to design a dress for the party. She had expected Jeremy to call her a while ago, if for no other reason then to let her know he was leaving the hospital, but so far, no call. Since they had the next day off, she'd let her backup dancers stay in her home and play video games downstairs. It was a nice distraction to get over the quiet her home offered her, since they were quite loud with the game they were playing called 'Underwatch'.

"Will you kill the 'Raven' on my tail!"

"I'm a little busy with the 'Golf Ball'!"

"Isn't the hero's name 'Bowling Ball'?"

"He can be a Basketball for all I care if someone else heals on this team!"

She chuckled a little at their banter while she sketched out a new design. She wanted her dress to look fancy, but not 'so fancy' that it made her look super rich. Yet she also wanted to look nice since she 'was' bringing a guest.

Thinking about Jeremy she smiled a little bit more and wondered if they would be able to bring Aelita as well. The little AI would no doubt have loved the chance to talk to more mammals 'besides' just her and the occasional friend. Plus, once everymammal got used to Jeremy and Aelita, she would no doubt receive just as much attention as the lone human on the planet.

As she thought about said human, her phone suddenly rang, causing her to jump and grab it, expecting it to be either the hospital, the mayor, or even Aelita using her phone number to call her for a pickup for Jeremy. Yet instead, she rolled her eyes as she saw the number was 'Sable', a popular actor for the very same movie that 'she' did the musical headliner and music video for. Answering she prepared her usual list of responses and excuses…

"Hello Sable, how are you tonight?"

"_Hey heeeey, how is it going Gazelle!"_ He said in his usual jovial tone, but she knew it was a façade. _"Listeeeen I got some crazy news, I made a reservation at La Hay-Sante and accidentally put a reservation for two mammals, and wouldn't ya know it, I can't change the reservation without canceling it, and you know how hard it is to get one there…"_

'_Yea I 'bet' you made that 'accident'…'_ She thought in annoyance.

It wasn't that she liked the antelope, far from it, he was a decent enough mammal. But ever since the movie recordings and her involvement as a side character in it (her screen time was all of four seconds), he'd been trying to get her to go out with him. Sable would make up some lame excuse, from theatre tickets to fancy dinners, he just kept on trying to date her.

She figured it was more for 'popularity' and increase his fanbase, rather than actually being interested in her as a mammal. Which she disliked, ever since becoming a pop idol, the number of guys trying to date her had grown, if not in number than in social status…

She really disliked the idea of someone trying to date her for either her money or her fame…

"Oh, that sounds terrible Sable, whatever will you do?" She replied in fake sympathy.

"_Yea it is terrible, which is why I was wondering, if you don't have any plans tomorrow would you be willing to join me for dinner!"_

She grinned as she resumed sketching, already having the perfect excuse.

"I'm afraid I am busy Sable, see I have a friend who's new in Zootopia and I promised I'd show him around, you know see the sights…"

"_A friend, I never knew you had a friend who's new to Zootopia!"_

"Oh, he is 'very' new to Zootopia… like 'way out of town' kind of new…" She said.

That wasn't a bad description for the human and his AI.

"Any way, I'm sorry Sable, but I'll have to do a rain check… maybe next time." She said before hanging up.

She put the phone down and resumed sketching, trying to decide if she should make her dress more 'exotic' or more 'natural'…

"Yep, way out of town…" She muttered before scratching out the image and starting over again.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Ugh, I forgot how much I hated vents!" He grunted as he crawled through the maintenance vent. "Cramped, tight spaces, no light… why couldn't we design anything better?"

"Yea, I'm smaller than you human and even 'I' am hating how cramped it is in here!" Nick complained as they continued to crawl through the vents.

Though Nick at least had an easier time walking on all fours than Jeremy did by crawling on his knees and elbows.

They had just exited the corridor a few minutes ago, with Nick surprising Jeremy by catching up to him and dodging electrified plasma rounds from Sentinel's auto turrets. That was also when Jeremy kicked open a vent door to get out of sight of the turrets and try to evade the defense turrets.

Upon entering the vents, Sentinel had also declared a 'level 3 defense protocol' and initiated a lockdown of the entire base, as well as activating the Sentinel Drones and ordering them to eliminate the intruder.

"Hey Nick, how ya doing back there?" He asked as they turned at a juncture, after barely able to read where they were.

"Well, other than feeling like a gerbil in an office box maze, I'm fine." The fox said. "Hey, where are we going anyway? How are you going to turn off… 'Sentinel' is it?"

"First place we're going to… is to the Central Power Core room, located two levels below us…" He said as they continued along the vent, him looking every so often for an exit point. "Once we get to the CPC, I can transfer the power to the main generators manually, to get the lights and everything else activated again. Once that's done, we can go a few more levels down to Ventilation Control to turn on the Air Filtration and Recycling turbines. After that's done, we can head on down to Sentinel's Mainframe and finally put an end to the lockdown and Sentinel Defense Grid."

"Okay, the first one I sorta understand, and the third I get… but why the second one?" He asked.

"Air toxicity since it shut off over three hundred and fifty thousand years ago has grown out of control, almost every room closed down is filled with air so toxic, just a few seconds breathing it will nearly kill you." He explained. "That's why none of the mammals who tried to enter the rooms could, the base's air-quality controls forced every closed room to magnetically seal until conditions improved. Even if you gave them special filters, the air is so foul nothing you have can prevent it from seeping into your suits."

"Makes sense…" Nick said.

They continued to crawl along the vent until at last an access port appeared. He carefully wedged it open, sliding it into the wall and poking his head out to see if Sentinel had activated any turrets in the corridor. Thankfully it was all clear, and he led the way out, being as quiet as possible.

"Okay, now where to?" Nick asked.

"This way… since the power grid is still mostly off, we need to use the manual access route to descend to the lower levels…" He muttered.

"Manual Access Route?"

They walked along the corridor until they reached the first MAR, which would taken them down seven floors if necessary.

"Stairs… really?" He asked him. "Do you humans have weird names for 'everything'?"

"What, the term 'stairs' was changed in the year 2104, we created far easier and quicker ways to go from floor to floor." He explained, pointing to the left of the staircase to a pair of closed off tubes. "We created the more practical 'anti-grav-elevators' to replace the old elevator systems, and even updated 'escalators' to move large groups of people en mass like the old elevator system."

"Man… you humans and your technology…" Nick said with a grin. "So, were stairs just relegated to 'use only in emergencies'?"

"As a matter of fact, yea… how did you guess?" He asked, surprised by Nick's quick uptake.

"Lucky guess."

With that they began to descend the staircase to the next floor below. He led the way in case something lay ahead of them, which was a good thing because right as they got off on the next floor…

**-Clank Clank, Clank Clank-**

"Wait!" He hissed, holding up his hand and holding Nick back.

He edged down the staircase flight halfway and leaned over to look down. Several beams of scanning light were constantly waving around the dimly lit corridor below, and as he watched a pair of 'DOG' drones marched past, using both their eye optics and tail scanners to locate them.

Grimacing he quietly walked back up to Nick.

"What's wrong?"

"Drones, DOG drones scanning for us, we can't walk down there…" He muttered. "We're going to have to find another MAR to reach the next level… follow me I know where there's another one nearby."

"Can you just call them stairs human?" Nick grunted in annoyance. "Really, even 'I' know they're called stairs…"

They walked in silence down the hall, passing by various rooms that mostly were labeled as living quarters. One room they passed was labeled 'ANT AND UTILITY TOOL STORAGE', and the door was wide open.

"Hey Jeremy… what's this?" Nick asked quietly, pointing at the open room.

He looked up and led the way inside, glad for a bit of luck on their side. "Storage room, mostly for the ANT drones and some utility tools." He said, walking past several shelves with row upon row of miniature drones.

"Woah… they're so tiny…"

He looked at the ANTs and nodded with a smile, picking one up and handing it to him. "Take a closer look, they're all offline so don't worry."

The ANT, or 'Autonomous Nanobot Tools', were miniature six-legged drones roughly two inches tall and six inches long, each equipped with varying tools designed to repair and maintain any location of the base, as he explained to Nick. The drones themselves had three segmented bodies, a middle 'thorax', a head and a rear 'power supply'. The legs were equipped with miniature magnets to allow them to stick to metal surfaces.

"These little drones are programmed to receive repair and maintenance orders from the central hub in HQ. Once an order is issued, drones with the necessary tools for the task will be selected and dispatched from this room. They can't switch their tools and each of the ANT drones are equipped for specific tasks limiting what they can do, but because they're so tiny and so maneuverable they can fit anywhere and fix almost anything collectively. Their network carries schematics for anything built in the base, and if anything is newly designed their Central Neuro Network will update them so they can perform repairs or maintenance if needed."

"Wow… this is so cool." Nick said, turning it over and examining the drone. "I would 'love' to have a few of these little guys for our home."

"Sadly, they need to stay here, as this room also is where they go to resupply their power." He said taking it back and replacing it where it was found. "Because they're so small they can't stay online for more than about six hours at a time. Once they begin to run low they will automatically return for recharge, cataloguing whatever progress they made and requesting other ANT drones continue their task."

"Nice, now if only a few of our co-workers were like that…" Nick chuckled as he and Jeremy each walked to the back of the room where several tools were lying in wait.

Most of the equipment was exceptionally dusty, only recently disturbed because of the drones moving around, mostly the ANTS that seemed to have been activated by Sentinel, but a few of the tools were still serviceable. They each grabbed a flashlight, after Jeremy explained what it was, and he grabbed a spare toolkit in case he had to be creative with getting through doors.

Once they were done, they moved on from the storage room and resumed moving through the dimly lit corridor, passing by halls and rooms locked down for various reasons. After a while they reached another staircase, and this one wasn't being monitored by the DOG drones.

"So, Jeremy… what kind of 'drones' are there down here… just curious?" Nick asked as they slow walked down the steps.

"Well… I know that there are DOG drones and FOX drones, and as you saw ANT drones but those aren't dangerous at all. Then there's SCORPIO drones, HARRIER drones and then there are RAPTOR drones. I've also heard from some of the older people… well… when I was kid… that there was another drone built down here or being constructed but I never saw it."

"I don't suppose they are… mammal friendly?"

"Well you still aren't considered 'sentient' so they would still think of you as 'animals'… so they'd probably ignore you." He responded. "No offense intended."

"Eh, I'll take it as a compliment…" Nick said with a chuckle.

They continued to walk through the next level, Jeremy leading the way and heading toward their first destination, the Central Power Core.

Just as they rounded a corner and headed toward a fork in the hallway, one route heading toward the CPC, and the other to the Sanitation Center, they heard the telltale sounds of metal feet clanking on metal floor.

**-Clank Clank, Clank Clank-**

They turned around and saw six DOG drones round the corner, red eyes gleaming as they locked onto them and weapons extended from their sides. Some of them had mounted weapons on their backs, one wielding rocket launchers and another with an advanced hot-air cannon.

"Running time?" Nick yelled.

"RUNNING TIME!" Jeremy yelled.

Both turned and went down the left path toward CPC, all the while avoiding the weapon's fire the drones were launching. Pings of electrically charged plasma bolts and intense heat waves missed them by the tiniest of margins, only because Jeremy was giving Nick directions of how to avoid being killed.

"KEEP RUNNING SIDE TO SIDE, DOG DRONES LACK ADVANCED MOTION TRACKING ALGORITHISMS!"

"WHAT DOES 'THAT' MEAN?!" Nick yelled.

"JUST KEEP RUNNING FROM SIDE TO SIDE!"

So, they ran from side to side, and as he said the DOG drones could not easily track them because they kept on moving. Then Jeremy turned left at another junction point and pushed the 'emergency close' button on the wall, sealing it off from the drones. "Here, this way!" He said and ran toward a large pair of double titanium doors with the letters CPC on them.

The door was under lockdown, obviously due to Sentinel, but he had the tools to unlock it. He pulled out a tri-driver and began to pick at the manual lock to undo the magnetic seal. While this was happening the sealed door behind them was being sliced open by a line of heated air and plasma fire.

"Jeremy…" Nick muttered fearfully, pulling out his gun and preparing to take aim.

"I knooooow…" He muttered while picking away at the door.

Suddenly the plasma fire pushed down rapidly to the middle section.

"Jeeeremy!" Nick yell-talked nervously.

"Patience is a viiiirtuuuuue!" He said back, trying to concentrate.

Just as the drones neared finishing torching through the door, he picked the door and it opened up automatically.

"Inside!" He yelled.

Nick didn't need to be told twice as he jumped on all fours into the room right behind him, right as the doors keeping the drones back opened as well. With rapid memory movement he jumped to the left side of the door and punched in a series of commands, making the doors once again magnetically lock. Several plasma bullets sounded as the drones fired and failed to stop them from getting through.

"That will keep em out for a while…" He gasped. "Long enough to finish at least."

"How can you be sure, they cut through that other door in no time!" Nick complained.

"Those doors are solid Titanium and are seven inches thick, the other doors were made of a weaker metal and only four inches thick. Also, they won't risk damaging anything related to this room without authorization from Sentinel enabling Level 1 protocols, or a human orders them to do so."

"Speaking of what is this room?" Nick asked.

Jeremy smiled and turned around at the massive spherical room.

They were standing on a raised platform that overlooked a vast empty space where, ten feet below them sat a large black segmented sphere with two adamantium pillars kept it raised and positioned. It sat there, rotating silently in the dead, dimly lit room. The sphere itself was roughly eighty meters in diameter, made up of segmented adamantium plates, and each plate magnetically locked with the ones next to it to create a perfect air-tight seal. The only sources of light could be found from two holo-computers which sat before him awaiting authorized command inputs.

"This is the Central Power Core room, where we generate and transfer power to the primary and backup generators which is then distributed to various areas of the base." He explained as he approached the computer. "All I have to do now is transfer the energy to the main generator… and then we can go on to Air Filtration and Recycling."

"Wait… generators generate energy… so… if 'this' isn't the generator then… what is it?" Nick asked in confusion.

"I'll explain soon… for now let me concentrate… it's going to take me a while…" He said while turning on the computers and activating the holo-keyboard.

There was silence for a while as he punched in commands and entered his authorization commands, glad that Sentinel didn't think to change command codes as a precaution. While he worked Nick continued to look around at the mostly dark room, looking at the dark sphere below them. Then Nick's phone went off, which in the silence sounded extremely loud.

(Nick's PoV)

"Uh… yes 'dear'?" He answered nervously.

**(Niiiiick!)** Judy yelled in an angry voice. **(You had better explain yourself mister! AND DON'T YOU 'SUGAR CARROT' ME!)**

"But… Judy… I had to help him, he needed help!" He explained nervously. "Even if he's a human… he needed all the help he could get!"

**(Nick, I swear, if you get yourself killed in that base YOUR IN HUGE TROUBLE MISTER!)** She screamed angrily, and he knew that if he 'did' make it out of this alive, he most certainly was sleeping on the couch. **(I nearly 'died' when I thought you died… why did you just…)**

He glanced at Jeremy who seemed very busy with his computer and turned away while covering the earpiece.

"Look… honey… Sugar Carrots… I just… I just wanted to help Jeremy after… you know… how I treated him." He whispered. "I'm sorry… I really am but I just had to help him. Alright?"

**(Alright your 'temporarily' forgiven… but I swear Nick… you are SLEEPING on the couch tonight!)**

He grimaced at that, he hated the couch.

"Agreed…"

**(Alright… where are you guys right now?)** She asked now.

Just then he heard a hissing sound and Jeremy laughing proudly at something.

"Central power core or whatever it is Jeremy called it, not much in here just a black sphere and… and… aaaand…"

He stared in awe as the room was lit up in a beautiful glow as the metal black sphere, moments ago just sat below them spinning silently, segmented and revealed yet 'another', smaller segmented sphere about half the size, which too separated and revealed the mystery it was containing. What Nick saw made him go wide eyed as he felt… 'primitive' to the human technology around him.

**(Nick… Nick?)**

He just turned the phone around and switched on video feed so she could see what he was gawking at.

**(Oh… sweet… carrots…)**

It wasn't hard to see why they both acted that way… because they both stared at what could only be described… as a miniature 'sun'.

It sat there in a strange glass case spinning and lighting the entire room is a golden orange light that bathed everything with absolute clarity. Not a single shadow remained as the entire room lit up like it was daytime, which 'technically' it was now because of the miniature sun. It's warmth instantly touched Nick's fur and made him feel like he was standing in the middle of a summer's day with not a cloud to be found in the sky, and the light made him think that it was the first rays of morning touching the ground, warming and bathing everything in its beautiful majestic glow.

"Jeremy… what is… that?" He asked in amazement.

"That… is the crowning achievement in energy generation technology… say hello… to the Solar Core." Jeremy explained as he beckoned him to look. "Ten meters in diameter, consisting of the same ratio of Hydrogen, Helium, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, neon, iron, silicon, magnesium and sulfur as our sun… contained inside a seventeen-inch-thick glass silicon container, restrained by two three-inch-thick adamantium segmented spheres… this Solar Core was among the final great achievements during the Golden Age of Peace."

"Capable of generating heat up to one thousand degrees Celsius, creating a light source that travels just as fast as the sun's, and an 'active use' life span of almost five hundred thousand years, this is how we generate our power for the base." Jeremy continued. "In other words, the power of the sun… in the palm of one's hand…"

Nick could only marvel in wonder, his mind blank as he stared at the tiny sun. He'd read it in school, it was massive, the sun easily dwarfing their planet, and the other '8' in their solar system. Yet here, under Zootopia, buried under how many meters of earth lay not 'just' a relic of the past… but the ultimate symbol of a species' power. They harnessed the power of the 'sun' itself… and not just the bits of light that touched their little ball, but the actual sun itself.

"How… did you 'make' it?" He asked in disbelief.

At that he looked at Jeremy and saw the sadness in his eyes.

"It cost many… many… many lives." He muttered sadly. "The first experiments to synthesize a sun… even one barely an inch in diameter… were almost total failures. It was only continued because we were desperate to find a new way to generate power in the waning years of the Golden Era. Billions were suffering because they had no power, governments agreed to continue despite the risks, fossil fuels were nonexistent and renewable energy wasn't outputting enough despite our advances. They were desperate to save the lives of trillions, no matter the cost, willing to give up so much to save so many lives."

As he continued to talk about it, it was as if the Solar Core responded, and seemed to glow just the 'tiniest' bit more, warm the room just another degree… all to make the room feel better just for 'his' sake.

"Finally, a scientist named Doctor Octavian created the first successful 'synthetic' sun. He proved the potential and capabilities of the technology, and it was him who expanded and built upon it. He eventually led the creation of larger and larger Solar Cores, assisting in developing stronger methods of containing and sustaining them. The first ones only lasted a few years, which wasn't enough time to make use of them, yet a single Solar Core, even a tiny one, output enough energy to power up enough cities to cover half of the United States Empire!"

"For the first time in what seemed like a century, our species had crawled out of a hole of our creation. When the first cores began to be synthesized and placed, the world became brighter and warmer. Homes were lit for what was essentially 'free energy', massive city centers became better, people's lives were improved… the fear of worrying how to afford light and heat became a thing of the past. It was like the Golden Age had started all over again, the future looked so much brighter thanks to this one breakthrough in technology!"

"Eventually Octavian discerned that, provided it was big enough, a single Solar Core could power half the hemisphere for 'centuries' if needed. It was even theorized that a large enough one could power the world on its own. That… was the moment we realized… how arrogant of a species we had become."

(Judy's PoV)

Judy listened in as Jeremy explained the history of the Solar Core, feeling so sorry for the human as he described the glory and horror of the beautiful creation below them.

**(The Solar Cores are only stable provided the gravity between them and the planet remains in a delicate balance, as well as the delicate mixture of materials that make them up remains constant. The Solar Cores act just like the sun, creating a massive sphere of gravity around them, and the bigger the core the greater the gravity effect on the area around it. And if the balance of the Solar Core's materials isn't maintained precisely, or the gravity between the two isn't kept in check by keeping one Solar Core away from another… well… all that explosive power has to go somewhere.)**

She couldn't believe it, such a wonderful thing being 'that' destructive?

"But… you said it was created to save lives." She said nervously.

**(Nuclear weapons were designed to be a deterrent… to prevent wars from ever happening… that didn't stop them from happening.)**

She looked down at Aelita who nodded in agreement, stating that what he said was true.

**(It happened when a team of scientists were developing a new Solar Core, the largest one ever believed possible. Over seventy meters in diameter, protected by three layers of Adamantium Plating barriers and nearly thirty inches of a glass silicon container… using the same ratio of elements used to create the others. It worked… the Solar Core turned on like they expected… but they underestimated the gravitational pull between the core and the planet.)**

There was silence as she dared to ask…

"What happened?"

Silence again…

**(Jeremy? What happened?)** Nick asked nervously.

(Jeremy's PoV)

He closed his eyes and sighed sadly.

"The core… turned on itself, all that energy imploded as the gravitational pull between it and the Earth made it twist inside and out. The unthinkable happened… it went 'supernova'… only on a much smaller scale …"

He only read the history about the incident, 'Facility 115-38-9P' as it was called, and Incident 'Solar France' as it was labeled by the public and governments.

"The facility was miles away from the nearest city… but it was still close enough that the Super Nova from the Solar Core melted 'everything' and 'everyone' within a fifty-mile radius. Fifty-two 'Million' people died… over half a major city center gone. Paris was literally wiped off the map…"

"It was only an accident… they didn't intend to kill or mean it… but the moment it happened, no more attempts to create larger Solar Cores occurred. This core is the largest one ever built since the incident… and we never pushed the bounds ever again. It was still theorized that provided a strong enough container, and enough space between the Earth and the Core itself, could still enable us to make a larger core capable of supporting all the energy needs of the earth by itself… but they remained theories."

"That was also how nations learned… how to sabotage all the Solar Cores. Those methods were used during the Final War… to commit mass genocide and eliminate all major government leaderships during the opening years."

"All it would take… is to upset the delicate mixture of the Solar Cores… by the tiniest margin and you have the biggest bomb ever conceived of. Just one tiny adjustment to one of the core's materials and… everyone and everything nearby… will die."

He stared at the beautiful orb of molten fire before him, a symbol of humanity's genius, of it's unending desire to push beyond it's limits. Even after all this time remaining inactive, it still burned bright, still gave off wonderful warmth, continued to serve and power the facility it was built to sustain. Yet it also served as a metaphor for him, as he learned in his studies, of the delicate balance that 'must' be kept between a species' genius and its desire grow.

"And you guys still used them?" Nick asked.

"It was easy to maintain the Solar Core's mixture, and even easier to find the exact distance between each core needed to ensure they didn't destabilize. Provided those two things remained constant, they were perfectly safe to use…" He replied as he typed in new commands. "I'm bringing the main generator back online, transferring power systems from backup battery power to primary generator…"

From around the room the spherical walls shifted and various solar panels, each layered with thick dust appeared. Upon finishing the panels opened and reveal their energy absorbing panels and began to burn the dust from the intense light and heat being generated. Hidden behind the panels were multiple turbines that took the electrical energy being generated by some of the panels and began to turn, creating more power which was added to the panel's and began to be distributed to the entire base as a whole.

"Power controls are online… everything is working at full power; the base is back online!" He yelled proudly.

**[Warning, Sentinel Defense Protocol level 2 approved!]** A female digitized voice declared over the internal base comms. **[Solar Core perimeter breached… all Sentinel Drones search and eliminate…]**

"And now Sentinel knows exactly where we are…" He said as he typed in commands and felt the room shift. "Changing the room's axis so we can leave without having to go through the drones, but Sentinel will automatically know where we're going, so we have to move fast!"

"Okay you heard him dear, see you later!" Nick said.

**(Nick, don't you-)**

"Oh, she is so ganna make me sleep on the couch for a week for this!" The fox complained.

"You'll have more to worry about before this is over!" Jeremy yelled as the room stopped and the doors opened. "Let's go, we have to get to the lower levels now and turn on Air Filtration and Recycling!"

They left the room and the door closed behind them, but as Jeremy had said the entire base was now online. Lights now lit up the corridors and hallways, yet doors still remained locked down for various reasons. They ran past rooms like 'Storage' and 'Energy Supply', even running through various corridors that were glorified Coolant Containers.

That was when they ran headlong into another drone.

Right as they rounded a corner, Jeremy leading the way to the anti-grav elevators, a small three-foot-tall drone floated out of the elevator going 'up' and turned toward them.

The drone itself resembled Nick, a very slim, metallic 'Nick'. It stared at them with green lit eyes as they came to a halt, tilting its head slightly as if confused about their appearance.

"Uh… hi?" Nick whispered.

The drone ignored them as it looked at Jeremy, its eyes changing from green to yellow as it identified him.

"Jeremy… I'm guessing this is a 'fox' drone, right?"

"Yea…" Jeremy said nervously.

"I assume it has an acronym for its name as well?"

"FOX drones, Friendless Operative and Xenophobic drone…" He replied. "FOX drones are designed to operate alone as infiltrators… and be suspicious of 'anything' and 'anyone' that it isn't programmed to instantly recognize."

"You humans and your names…" Nick muttered.

The drone continued to stare and scan them… before its eyes changed to red. **[Intruder Detected…]** It declared in a monotone voice.

"RUN!" He yelled as the drone walked toward them.

They both turned and ran while Nick took a gamble and pulled his gun out and aimed at the drone. He fired two shots and hit the drone directly in the head, but no 'ping' sounds were heard.

"It didn't do anything!" He yelled as he ran after Jeremy as he turned a corner, heading toward another anti-grav elevator.

"That's not the real FOX drone, it's a hologram!" He yelled. "Here!"

He turned another corner and punched a light switch to turn the lights off in the hallway, ran right past the elevator and then opened up a door labeled 'crew quarters L-54'. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Nick's sunglasses and tossed them by the elevator. He then pulled Nick inside before he could protest and waited quietly with the door cracked open just enough for them to see.

"What are we…"

"Shush!" Jeremy hissed as he saw the FOX drone turn down the hallway.

They both watched quietly as the drone stepped to the shades and scanned them, then looked at the elevator going 'up'. It stepped into the anti-grav elevator and floated upwards and out of sight.

"Nice going now…"

"Not yet!" He hissed.

He watched and waited, making sure to stay absolutely quiet while listening for the tiniest sound. Sure enough, moments later he heard the subtle **clank** of light metal footsteps walk past them. Carefully he leaned out and turned down the corridor and saw the tiniest shift of lighting from the lit hallway beyond, turning and leaving.

"Okay it's safe!" He said.

He expected Nick to ask why he did that, so he preempted the fox by explaining.

"FOX drones are designed to be infiltration drones, they aren't designed for direct combat, so instead they use their advanced holographic technology to disguise their movement and fool their targets. Unless you keep direct eye contact with the real one, it will disguise itself using its holographic technology while also creating a hologram of itself for you to focus on. They won't engage targets that are in groups and will simply wait until they are either alone or follow them to coordinate their actions with other nearby drones."

When the fox didn't respond he turned to see what he was looking at, and saw Nick staring wide eyed at a bed.

On the bed was a dusty skeleton, the clothes worn on it faded and worn down with age, barely resembling clothing and simply held together by a few defiant strands of thread. Nick just stared at the bones of the once living human, lying in bed in a sleeping position.

"Jeremy…" Nick asked quietly.

Jeremy simply walked over and placed a hand on the skull, feeling his heart feeling twice as heavy as he once again remembered, that he was the only human alive in the entire base.

"I don't know who this is… and I don't feel like I want to know yet." He muttered quietly. "Let's go Nick… we have to go."

"Are there any others?"

"I know there are nine hundred and ninety-nine in the other pods like mine, and who knows how many more in rooms like this… who died… just…"

He shook his head and led the way out and to the anti-grav elevator. He demonstrated how it worked by first stepping into it and feeling the anti-grav field lift him steadily downwards. After he walked in Nick joined him and soon, they were floating downwards side by side.

"How come we're traveling at the same speed and side by side, I got in 'after' you?"

"The anti-grav field operates under a 'group' principle, if multiple people are taking the same lift it slows everyone down taking it while grouping those who got in on the same level together so they can get off together if needed."

"Huh, cool… beats waiting on elevators to go up instead of down."

He waited until they passed three floors to climb out, and from there led the way to Air Filtration and Recycling.

"Ugh… the air is so 'foul' down here…" Nick complained, holding his nose.

"It's the toxic air levels, until we get the air recycling online the quality will decrease the lower, we go. For now, we're okay, but if we go any further our lungs will be filled with toxic air that could poison our bodies."

Moments afterwards all the lights aside from the emergency lights switched off, causing him to stop and look around nervously.

"What the…" He whispered. "That's not right, the lights aren't supposed to shut off for any reason unless they're manually shut off."

"Uh… Jeremy…" Nick whispered, tugging at his arm.

He turned around and saw what the fox officer was staring at. At the end of the hall, a set of four gleaming red eyes and tracking lasers aiming around the hall, with serrated diamond edged teeth exposed, durasteel plated bodies, copper tipped steel clawed feet, and sensor lined tails waving slightly from side to side… stood 'four' RAPTOR drones.

All four of them looking directly at him and Nick.

"Jeremy… what are those?" Nick whispered fearfully.

**[Hyeeeeeeeh…]** One of the drones hissed menacingly.

"Raptors… RAPTOR drones… Reconnaissance and Assassination Personnel Trapper and Operations Recon drone." Jeremy answered quietly.

**[Tap-Tap-Tap]** One of the drones tapped on the floor, using the middle most and sharpest claw to make that sound.

The claw was so sharp that it made scratches in the floor, where nothing else could.

"Please tell me that those things have a weakness of some kind… or that they're mammal friendly."

"RAPTOR drones were programmed with powerful smell sensors and heightened hearing, but only standard visual optics. No better than a DOG drone's… in low lighting they struggle to see their targets. But if they spot said target… 'nothing' short of low lighting will make them lose it… and they operate in 'packs'. And they are 'not' mammal friendly… they will eviscerate you if they catch you!"

"Well… what are they waiting for?" Nick whispered fearfully.

He squinted at the lead RAPTOR and barely saw that its optics looked damaged, something had coated the drone's visual sensors and was obscuring their sight.

"They can't see us… not completely… to them we probably look like distant blurs." He whispered quietly. "In the low lighting with that obstruction on their optics, we can probably slip away without them getting a positive bio-lock. Listen, no matter what stay as calm as you can… those actions their making…"

To emphasize what he meant, one of the RAPTOR's opened its mouth to reveal the glittering teeth it had, razor sharp and snarled with low hisses to match.

"Yea…" Nick whispered in fear.

"They're doing it to get a reaction, they can hear your heartbeat if it beats faster, or if you breathe louder. They can smell the sweat glands that secrete sweat off my body, not sure how it works with mammals but if you sweat for any reason then they'll smell you too. They're trying to trigger your fear responses to compensate for their lack of visual sensors. If we just stay calm… walk 'slowly'… and avoid the tracking lasers… we can slip away from them."

Nick nodded and slowly backed away, both of them trying to keep their breathing steady and staying calm.

**[GAWK, GAWK… GAWK!]** One of the drones yelled out, stomping loudly with its metal feet.

**[KYReeeeeeeee!]**

**[Hssspbt… pfbt…]**

The drones were mimicking sounds to inspire fear into them, and sadly it was working for Nick. The fox, who's species had 'never' had to deal with such a creature as the one the RAPTOR drones were based on, even before 'human's' time on earth, was barely holding back the panic attack that was starting to creep out. Jeremy too was holding it together, though barely, having seen RAPTOR drones before and how they worked gave him an idea of how to resist it. Yet those times had been when the drone wasn't trying to kill him.

They made it to 'just' the end of the corridor when Nick let out a 'yelp' as the drones started marching while hissing. He clamped his hands hopefully over his mouth, as if that would stop the sound, but it was too late. Jeremy turned and saw all four drones' heads snap to Nick's location, and tracking lasers locked onto both of them.

"RUN!" He screamed.

They both ran as fast as their feet could carry them, Jeremy leading the way and telling Nick to not look back for any reason.

Right behind them the RAPTOR drones screamed and yelled, and around the facility he heard echoes of metal clanking and footsteps, indicating that the other drones were now alerted to their presence.

**[TERMINATE, TERMINATE, TERMINATE!]**

Jeremy ran through a hallway fork, heading right and hitting the automatic door lock to the room. Seconds later he ran over to a light control panel and manually shut off all the lights including emergency ones. Just as the lights went off the door began being sliced into by plasma torches equipped onto the RAPTOR drones.

"Quickly, that won't hold them for long!" Jeremy yelled, using his flashlight to point at a maintenance vent.

With the speed that only fear of being killed could provide, he rapidly opened the vent, crawled inside with Nick behind him and silently replaced the vent door just as the drones sliced into the room.

"Quiet…" He whispered, putting his hand on Nick's mouth trying to keep him as silent as possible.

The drones stepped in one by one, first RAPTORS as they scanned the room for them.

**[Scans… negative…]**

They were then joined by other drones, DOGs, a few FOX drones, other RAPTOR drones, all of which looked around the room for any sign of them.

When one of the RAPTORs clawed over to their side, began tapping its middle claw on the ground, making subtle yet easily noticeable dents and revealing its sharp point, both of them had to take deep breaths to remain calm and unseen.

-BOOM-

As one all of the drones turned in the same direction.

**[Unknown disturbance detected, Lower Level, Sector S-7! Investigate at once!]**

**[Command Received!]**

All of the drones ran out in unison the way they came in, their metal feet clanking loudly in the distance as they went to investigate whatever it was that distracted them. He let out a sigh of relief before gently coaxing the vent door to open.

"Whoa!" Nick yelped out.

He turned and looked at what Nick was shocked to see, before he chuckled at the sight of hundreds of ANT drones marching along the vent ceiling. "Relax Nick, they're just ANT drones."

"Just 'ANT' drones?" He half screamed.

"Relax, they don't even care about us." He said, putting his hand in front of them to demonstrate.

The ANT drones simply marched on, using his hand as if it were a simple bump and walking over it. All of them marched in single file, equipped with various repair and maintenance tools, heading off to wherever it was they were going or even back to the service room for recharge.

"But aren't they… like… going to tell the others we're here?!" Nick complained.

"Like I said, they don't care, they aren't intelligent enough to make decisions like the others. Their programming is limited to maintaining and repairing whatever they're told to that resides in the base. They have a complete map of every room, vent, equipment and anything else in this base. They haven't the storage space needed for more advanced algorithms." He explained, lifting his hand and letting the ANT column march on in peace. "Let's go, before those drones come back…"

They slowly left the vent and the ANT drones to their duty.

Right after they left, he led the way to the door and paused.

Staring at them was a FOX Drone, lying on its side and only holding its upper half up with its forward legs. The rear legs appeared to be damaged or disabled because they were limp. The drone's optics shined a blue light as it looked at him, scanning him for a moment before starting to slowly crawl toward him.

"Uh… shouldn't we run?" Nick said, slowly reaching for his pistol again.

"No wait…" He muttered as the small drone continued to crawl toward him. "This one isn't hostile… if it were it would have alerted the others by now."

As if to confirm his statement, it crawled forward and simply looked up at him.

**[Reeeeee… pa are… re que-que-ted…]** It declared in a broken, damaged feminine tone.

"It's damaged… poor thing must have been damaged who knows how long ago and has been trying to crawl all this time trying to find a human to fix it." He said.

"Yea well, let's leave it and go to wherever we have to go, just let the drones fix it!" Nick said, running past it to look past the doors and check for drones.

"No, they won't fix it…" He said, holding the FOX drone's head in one hand. "Drones are incapable of repairing themselves, its hardwired into their programming to prevent them from fixing themselves or building more of themselves. No schematic of any drone exists in their databases outside of the ANT drones, and only ANT drones can perform repairs on themselves in case one of them is damaged for any reason. The only way for any other drone to be repaired is if a human repairs them. Only thing they can do is search for a human and ask to be repaired."

Thinking quickly, he pulled out his toolkit and began grabbing the tools needed to repair the drone.

"Are you 'crazy'? This entire base wants to kill us, and you want to fix a random broken drone that, may I remind you, one of them tried to KILL US?!" Nick complained.

"Just trust me Nick… I know what I'm doing." He said as he tapped a panel on the drone's underbelly to release the metal plating shell. "I think this drone can help us…"

He looked at the Drone's internal mechanics and immediately saw the problem. Several joints connecting the legs to the body chassis had snapped out of place and wedged themselves in between various gears that turned the legs and allowed the drone to kneel or walk. As for the vocal processor he saw that it had received some internal damage from having to support its entire body using only its forward legs.

All were easy fixes which he began to perform, grabbing some screwdrivers and a plasma torch to begin his repairs.

"Alright hang on FOX, I can't properly repair you without the parts needed, but I can at least give you a quick patch job to let you move around and talk."

He worked slowly and steadily, un-obstructing the limbs and twisting or burning other pieces into positions where they could be used again. Damaged portions that were beyond repair he simply extracted and tossed away. When it came to the voice box unit, he managed to hotwire a temporary fix to at least let it talk to them.

Once the repairs were complete, he closed the shell up and backed up to Nick.

"Alright FOX, up you go." He said.

The FOX drone picked itself up and steadily stood on all four limbs. Performing a basic function test, it moved each leg independently to determine if any further damage was caused.

**[Diagnostic Complete, all functions within serviceable conditions.]** It declared looking up at him. **[FOX Drone 42-L7 at your service, awaiting your orders.]**

"Huh, you were right… sorry for doubting you Jeremy." Nick said. "So, while we're on the subject what's your name miss fox?"

The FOX drone turned to Nick's general direction and scanned. **[Error, Error, no additional sentient individuals detected… reveal yourself, reveal yourself.]**

"FOX drone scan for additional life signs."

FOX scanned and immediately registered Nick. **[Species identified, Vulpes Vulpes…]**

"Update species clarification, label as sentient and regard with same intelligence level as Homo Sapiens."

The drone's eyes flashed yellow then green, then back to yellow and orange, before finally settling on blue at last. **[Confirmed, species updated…]** It stated before flashing red. **[Intruder alert, intruder alert, intruder alert!]**

"Disregard intruder status!" He ordered.

**[Disgregarding…]**

"Okay, now that that's done… FOX drone, explain why you didn't try to eliminate me or alert the other Sentinel Drones to my location."

**[This unit is not under the direct coordination of the Base AI 'Sentinel'. As such, human protection protocols remain in effect for this unit's programming.]**

"Okay… so how were you damaged?"

**[Upon the activation procedure of the Sentinel Drones and the targeted life form being identified as a 'Human', multiple drones were activated simultaneously from various areas of the facility and ordered to intervene and protect the human.]** The drone stated. **[Upon our activation, a firefight ensued and most of the drones activated to protect you were either destroyed or severely damaged. This unit escaped thanks to intervention but was suffered minor damage.]**

"Wait… who or what would be able to authorize the activation of drones besides a human or Sentinel?" He asked himself.

"That sounds like a bad thing the way your describing it." Nick said.

"It is… other than Sentinel or a living human, nothing should be able to activate and order any drone in the base." He said. "Nick call Judy again, I need to talk to Aelita!"

(Judy's PoV)

Her phone rang and she instantly answered it.

"Hello?"

**(Judy, this is Jeremy, put Aelita on the phone I need to talk to her real quick.)**

She held the phone out to the AI in her sphere, but the glowing human girl simply shrugged before pointing at her mouth and shaking her head.

"I don't think she can talk." She said.

**(Aelita, use sign language, have MUTT translate for you.)**

Aelita nodded and turned to the drone and began moving her hands in rapid succession.

**[Jeremy… this is Aelita, what is wrong?]**

**(Aelita, some additional drones were activated that weren't affiliated with the Sentinel Drones. One of them informed me that there seemed to have been an internal fight among them about either to defend or kill me. Do you know if there is 'anything' with command codes to initiate such an activation or command authority besides Sentinel or myself down here?)**

Judy looked at the AI as she held her chin in thought, before using her hands to rapidly make signs that she had no hope of understanding, so fast that she couldn't catch a single one before the 'fifth' one after was made.

**[Negative, other than 'you', Sentinel, and I nothing has the authority or command authority to activate or order the drones.]**

**(I don't suppose 'you' activated them by chance…)** He asked hopefully.

**[Negative… I was locked out of all command functions upon Sentinel's sudden activation…]**

**(Well that doesn't sound good… oh 'fuck'… Sentinel has locked down this passage!)**

"What's going on, what does that mean?" Judy asked.

**(It means we're cut off from direct access to Air Filtration and Recycling. Aelita, can you access 'anything' in the systems from where you are? Can you help us out here?)**

Aelita looked thoughtful again before rapidly using one hand to type while signaling with the other hand for MUTT to translate.

**[Sentinel's defense protocol has reached level 2, I am still locked out from most of the command functions and subsystems… but I 'can' at least access a schematic of the base's interior and triangulate your position based on Nick's phone to guide you.]**

After finishing her typing Aelita used the hand that was typing and broadcast a holographic image on the floor, astonishing Judy as she saw how 'vast' the base was. She couldn't describe or imagine how large it was just based on the image, or how she could possibly compare it before Aelita zoomed in on a small corner where Jeremy and Nick were located.

**[Based on your present location, if you go through 'Drone Parts Storage' Beta Section, you should be able to pass through it and reach Air Filtration and Recycling.]**

**(Drone Parts Storage Beta Section, got it… watch our progress for me and alert me if anything happens that I should know about.)**

Aelita nodded as the call ended while she continued to stare at the hologram, her eyes glowing various colors.

"Uh, Aelita, is there any way you can tell what else is down there?"

The AI looked thoughtful before nodding and used one hand to type while the other altered the hologram. Seconds later she saw multiple lights appear, all of them moving in various sections of the base.

"I assume those are all drones… right?"

Aelita nodded as she zoomed in on Jeremy and Nick's location and saw that one drone was right next to them.

"I hope that's the friendly one that Jeremy talked about." She muttered.

The AI nodded as she identified it with a 'blue' light alongside Jeremy and Nick.

She watched the trio move down one hallway before halting right outside of 'Drone Parts Storage'.

***Riiiiiing***

Judy answered instantly.

**(Aelita… we have a problem…)**

Aelita nodded instantly, updating the map to show a 'green' coloration on the floor directly in front of them.

(Nick's PoV)

"Okay… so what is that?" He asked as he pointed at the floor which was covered in some kind of blue slime blotting various places.

"That… would be Sentinel trying to stop our progress, it's getting smarter and analyzing our movements." Jeremy explained. "At defense protocol 2, Sentinel will use various lockdown methods to either slow down or outright halt our progress to whatever our destination or target is. In this case, Sentinel is trying to keep us out of Air Filtration and Recycling and knows that this is our fastest way with the other areas locked off. And since it doesn't want to damage anything in here, without authorization from humans or being at level 1 defense protocols… it chose to coat the floor with 'Zero Friction Fluid' as a deterrent."

"Zero friction fluid? So, what does that mean to the mammal who is not an expert on humans."

"If we try to walk on this stuff… we won't get very far, we'll just slip and slide in random directions until we come to a stop." He said before talking on the phone again. "Aelita, is there another way around?"

**(Negative, all other access routes are sealed off, only Sentinel can unlock them. You're going to have to find a way through the fluid Jeremy.)**

"Well that poses a problem… if we try to walk on that stuff, we'll never get through… and we have no other way around…" He whispered, looking around for something. "And there's no way we can climb these shelves and walk around without causing a ruckus that the drones will hear instantly."

Indeed, as he looked up all around them were various shelves stacked high with spare parts for every conceivable drone in the facility. Some of the shelves were so heavily stacked with parts that even pulling '1' part down would cause others to fall and create noise that would attract unwanted attention. Not to mention the sheer size of the room, which easily encompassed three stories height from floor to roof. If they tried to scale the shelves it would take them forever to navigate to the other side.

That's when he spotted something off to the side.

"Hey Jeremy, you said anything that tries to walk on that stuff will slip and slide right?" Nick asked.

"Yea, why?"

"What if we…" Nick said, grunting and causing the human to look at him as he hauled a metal slab from among other metal slabs. "Use 'this' and surf our way across…"

"Good idea!" He said, helping Nick.

It took them a while, but they eventually maneuvered the slab over the ZFL coated floor and lowered it gently, so it sat there for them. Sure enough, it began to slip ever so slightly around. He and Jeremy got on with him grabbing a steel rod to help push them forward.

"Well, ya coming?" Nick asked the drone.

The FOX drone sat there waiting for orders, having received none from Jeremy since he fixed it.

"Well… we can't leave you behind…" Jeremy said. "FOX drone, get on and follow us until further notice."

The drone nodded and climbed aboard the slab right as Jeremy began to push away.

They slid without effort, sliding along the floor aboard their makeshift raft across the storage room floor. It was slow work because Jeremy had to constantly make corrections to keep them from crashing, as well as keep their speed slow so they didn't make any noise. This allowed him to talk to the drone.

"So, while we let the human drive, you got a name?" He asked the FOX.

The drone simply looked at him and stayed silent.

"What, was it something I said?" He asked quietly. "Look if this is about trying to hit on you, I'm already a married fox…"

**[This unit is identified as FOX Drone 42-L7, despite your new classification as a 'sentient' species… you are not to be trusted.]** It stated before turning away.

Nick just gaped at the drone. "Rude much?"

"Don't blame it, FOX drones are suspicious and xenophobic by programming. At least it's willing to talk to you."

"I don't suppose there's a reason you chose to do that with a drone based on 'foxes'?" He asked curtly.

"They were designed to be infiltrators and saboteurs…" He said sheepishly. "My ancestors chose to base it on a species known for being sneaky. I'm… sorry…"

Nick just hmphed and looked forward. "Well for your information, not all foxes are shifty and untrustworthy… so I hope you consider updating them."

"I'll try to update them…" The human muttered. "But like I said… I had no control in how the drones were originally programmed and designed, before my time."

They continued to surf through the large room for a few more minutes before Jeremy slowed them down as they neared the exit. Once close enough they all jumped off and landed on the dry part near the door, which was conveniently locked.

"Sentinel really… I'm starting to think you don't want us going anywhere at this point." Jeremy chuckled as he began to manually unlock the door.

**[Intruder…]**

Without warning the door opened, revealing a large rectangular turret lowered from the ceiling, along with two similar looking turrets poking from the floor, each of them with glowing nozzles and pointing directly at them.

"Oh boy…" Nick muttered, lifting his hands in surrender.

**[You are required to surrender and submit for elimination…]**

From directly behind them a loud hissing sounded, and he turned to see a blueish haze begin to fill the room.

"Cryofreezing Air and Disintegration Bolts…" Jeremy yelled, before shoving him to the side of the door right as the turrets opened fire. "Nick, call your wife quick!"

"Done!" He said, speed dialing Judy.

(Jeremy's PoV)

As Nick speed dialed his wife, he stared in fear that the cryofreezing air behind them. The air was designed to 'slow' down targets for the turrets, but because of his disease it might as well be a death sentence.

"Judy, put Aelita on, quick!" Nick said, before handing him the phone.

"Aelita!" He yelled.

**(Jeremy, I am detecting increased activity from the drones and Sentinel.)**

"We've noticed!" He yelled. "The room is filling with Cryofreeze, Sentinel is going to freeze us solid! The cold air will kill me, and the drones or turrets will finish Nick off at this rate! Can you shut off the turrets or the air?"

**(Negative, Sentinel still has me locked out, I can't access any sys-)**

-BOOM-

Directly above them a part of the ceiling erupted in an explosion, and a massive wave of hot air poured into the room.

**[Alert, heating system compromised in sector BETA, Level 8!]**

Jeremy looked up at the pouring hot air from above, which was now creating a 'hot zone' separate from the cold zone made up from the Cryofreeze air in the rest of the storage room. Now he knew, something was going on, that conduit which controlled the heating system for this section of the base was 'not' designed to spontaneously explode for no reason. Something or someone was down in the base with them, and it was trying to sabotage the base. But whoever or whatever they were, they had bought him some time, the heated air would keep him safe at least from the freezing air until Sentinel got it under control, which would let him find a way to deal with the disintegration turrets on the other side of the door.

"Aelita, which way to Air Filtration and Recycling?"

**(It's the second door on the right, straight ahead.)**

"And if I remember my schematics, this corridor goes three directions, and we're directly at the intersection, right?"

**(Correct)**

He nodded as he looked down to the FOX drone. "FOX drone, I want you to distract the turrets for us, buy us as much time as you can!"

**[Order received…]** It declared with an affirmative nod.

"Wait, what?" Nick said. "You're not seriously telling 'her' to go out there alone? She'll get massacred!"

**(Who is this 'she' your talking about?)** Judy said over the phone.

"Nick, it's just a drone, I can repair it later, besides we don't have time, the Sentinel Drones won't take long to reach us here!" He said before nodding to the FOX drone. "Get going, buy us as much time as you can!"

The drone nodded and bent low to prepare to sprint.

"We'll only have a few seconds before the turrets realize the deception, as soon as they start firing run straight ahead!" He said.

"Wait, you can't just use…"

"GO!"

Instantly the drone jumped forward and was promptly shot down by the turrets. Yet as the drone, 'disintegrated', a new FOX drone appeared and received the attention of the turrets.

He jumped out with Nick right behind them, running past the turrets as they still shot at the drone. He turned around just in time to watch as the drone's illusion was dispelled and was forced to fight the turrets once they got a lock on the 'real' drone.

The drone tackled the ceiling turret, biting at the nozzle and attempting to use it's 'assassination tool' to neutralize it, but the sharpened lance, while very effective at slicing into and through flesh and bone, was nowhere near effective against durasteel plating.

The two ground level turrets rotated and opened fire at point blank, blasting the drone off and causing heated damage to the metal body frame.

He didn't see what happened after as he ran through the door into Air Filtration and Recycling, and right after Nick entered, he shut the door and magna-locked it so the drones couldn't access it easily.

"That was close…" He muttered, even over the continued fire rate of the turrets.

"Jeremy… why did you leave that FOX drone to die!?" He yelled angrily, grabbing him and forcing him to look into his angry eyes. "You just sent her to die, and for no good reason! We could have found another way without leaving her to die!"

Seeing the furious look on the fox officer, he could only go wide eyed at the stern expression.

"Nick… that drone was just a machine." He explained. "It wasn't alive to begin with, it was made to obey orders no matter what they were. Even if it gets damaged or destroyed, as long as we have the parts I can easily repair it."

"How can you just stand there… stand there… and just…" Nick snarled. "Treat her… as if… she doesn't 'matter'? As if she were just a wrench or a hammer or… A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT!"

At that he sighed, and gently coaxed Nick's paws off him.

"Because I have to…" He whispered in a dead tone. "The only difference between the AI that drone uses, Sentinel's AI, and Aelita's AI… is that they have varying levels of intelligence. Aelita's is a category ten, which is on par if not exceeding 'human' intelligence, whereas FOX drone is equipped with only a category six. Sentinel's is category three… the lower you get the more simplistic and basic their AIs are…"

"It's for their own good Nick… that's why I told it to do that and didn't consider what might happen to the drone."

He eventually turned around and headed to a computer console which overlooked massive turbines and ventilation shafts.

"Nick, those drones weren't 'built' to work for Sentinel, they were simply assigned… every single drone, including MUTT, was once a combat drone. Aelita is considered 'alive' in all but the definition, she just lacks a living body. The drones however… they aren't alive, and they can never be…"

"And why is that?" He snarled.

He closed his eyes in quiet contemplation, wondering how best to describe it to the fox officer.

"Because if we did treat them as living, sentient beings… then that means my entire species created an entire 'race'… and enslaved them… and forced them to commit horrendous acts of murder beyond anything even man could achieve by itself against itself." He muttered. "If you treated it like another mammal… then your calling it a murderer… I don't know how many humans that drone killed before today… and I don't 'want' to know."

He looked over at the fox and saw the look in his eyes as comprehension started to dawn.

"If we gave human level sentience to the drones… it would be like labeling them as murderers, without giving them a chance to defend themselves or their actions. Every single 'one' of those drones. And my species…" He turned away. "My species… would have committed probably the worst sin imaginable. There's a massive… massive… difference, in enslaving a species and creating a race and enslaving it from the start. My kind did that in the past, enslaving our fellow humans. But the drones, which were built from the start to kill and serve humans have 'no' defense, nobody to protect their rights. They were created to kill, to slaughter, to protect and destroy… they had no choice in the matter."

With that he entered commands and brought Air Filtration and Recycling back online. As he did the turbines began turning and humming, and already he began to feel the air become steadily cleaner. He heard air being pumped through the massive ventilation system, reaching all areas of the base.

"There… it will take a while before all areas of the facility are clean and toxic free, but at least now we can access Sentinel's mainframe."

"Jeremy…" Nick muttered. "I'm sorry for that outbreak… it's just… seeing a fellow fox… even a machine one treated like it's nothing. It really got to me. I understand now why you must act like that, but… I still don't like it."

"Neither do I." He said back. "As a kid I always talked to the drones, thinking they were like me. But as I learned more about them… the more pity I felt for them. At one point I asked why we don't treat the drones better, and all I was told is… that they're machines, they aren't alive… nothing more."

He sighed as he finished entering the priority level override for the turbines. This way they could enter the key levels, namely Sentinel's mainframe level, which was still six levels down. Now they can enter it safely without the toxic air levels killing them within minutes.

"Let's go, we still have six levels between us and Sentinel's mainframe, and I doubt Sentinel is going to just let us waltz right in without a fight."

They walked out and saw that the turrets had been retracted, which actually surprised him as Sentinel should not have done so without good reason. He also saw the smoking remains of the FOX drone, it's metallic casing sporting melted holes and smoking burn marks.

While Nick wanted to go investigate it, Jeremy told him to ignore it and led the way to a pair of 'priority' anti-grav elevators. He explained that they operated similar to the other elevators, but they allowed for faster travel, and only allowed a limited number of individuals at a time.

"Alright we should be fine… as long as we both enter at the same time, we'll be okay." He explained. "Just in case though, remember, 'six' levels, as soon as you see five floors pass by enter the sixth one."

"Why does that sound like some cliché line said right before something bad happens." Nick muttered.

"This isn't fiction Nick, just get in…" He said back, before climbing in.

Right after Nick entered though, Sentinel proved the fox's words accurate.

**(Sentinel Base Defense Protocol Level 1 approved…)** Sentinel declared.

"Oh, you are kidding me…" He yelled.

**(Disengaging all Anti-Grav Elevator safety protocols… increasing all lifts to five times speed…)**

He felt his body suddenly fly downward at a rapid pace, much faster than should be, and knew that Sentinel was 'done', absolutely done playing games. It knew they were in the elevators and was going to let a heavy dose of gravity kill them off where drones, turrets, and anything else it's used so far has failed.

Yet no sooner did it happen did the anti-grav elevator slow down, and they paused right on Sentinel's mainframe level.

**(Error… error… system override protocol engaged… initiating countermeasures…)**

He heard the elevator beginning to increase in pressure again, and he took only a moment to realize that Sentinel was getting ready to resume killing them with gravity again.

"GET OUT NOW!" He screamed at Nick, before kicking off the wall and onto the level.

Right as Nick got out the elevator turned on again, and he saw that Nick's gun had been left behind in the elevator, thankfully the only casualty of what would have been a messy end to the two of them.

"Jeremy… your Base AI… needs to shut up… and 'die' for all I care now." Nick complained while staring at where his gun used to be. "I am getting REAL TIRED… of hearing that thing trying to kill us."

"Nick…" He whispered quietly, trying to get the fox to shut up as he stared ahead of them.

"I mean for 'fucks' sake… this is too damn stressful, and I thought parking duty was annoying!"

"Niiiiiiiiick…" He muttered in fear.

"What?!" He said, turning around and seeing 'what' Jeremy was hissing about.

Directly in front of them, were three RAPTOR drones, and they were all staring directly at them.

They just sat there, staring at them, and they stared right back at the drones.

"They're going to leap at us, we've only got one hope to beat them…" He whispered. "When I say now… duck…"

"How do you know they're going to leap at us?" He whispered back.

"Raptor's attack targets they think are cornered by leaping… its how they 'neutralize' them… before eliminating them when at close range. It's in their programming… remember… on my signal…"

**[Hyeeeeees…]**

**[GRAW!]**

"NOW!"

At his word both of them ducked and laid flat, while two of the RATPOR drones jumped to deal killing blows. Yet instead they flung forward and landed in the elevators, and while one zoomed straight down, the other went up, heading directly to the same demise that Sentinel tried to inflict on them.

The third RAPTOR however, held back and simply watched them.

"Jeremy… the third one didn't do what you said it would!" Nick yelled fearfully.

"I know… I know!" He yelled as well. "I'm thinking I'm thinking!"

**[Grhhyeeeeees…]** It hissed.

"Any plans?" Nick asked.

"Running would be a good idea…" He answered. "On three… with me… THREE!"

Both jumped and took off running, and the Raptor followed. Going off memory he turned down a very wide and mostly empty corridor heading toward Drone Storage B-4. He knew that there weren't that many 'big' drones, and some of the few drone storage rooms in the B category were empty, just vast spaces that went unused.

He turned and headed toward the room before he was tackled by the Raptor from behind, and felt it sink its sharp claw into his back.

"Gah!" He yelled painfully, feeling the copper tip slice cleanly into him.

"JEREMY!" He heard Nick yell.

"**Graaaaaaaaaaah!"** The drone roared before lowering down it's head to finish him off, preparing to bite down into his neck with its serrated diamond teeth, perfectly lined to-

-SMASH-

He looked back to see the metal door close shut 'down' on him, barely holding an inch above his body, but it's sudden and heavy movement had crushed the drone in two, sending the two halves to fall pitifully to the sides.

Panting in fear and pain… he slowly crawled through the door, and watched it finish closing as he did.

Panting heavily… he walked over to Nick who was looking in shock as well.

"Nice going…" He muttered.

"Wasn't me…" He said. "Give me your phone again… call your wife."

Moments later Judy answered and Aelita was on the phone.

"Aelita… there's something else down here… something is activating and disengaging various parts of the base and its not Sentinel." He said in the dark room.

**(Jeremy… I have accessed Nick's phone and turned on the loud speaker…)** Aelita declared into the echoing room. **(I have been monitoring your progress and Sentinel's actions and I believe I have an answer. My scans indicate there is a drone in that room with you… yet it seems inactive… my guess is that it is 'not' a Sentinel Drone. ****I also calculate that ****whatever is doing this, is acting 'against' Sentinel in an attempt to save you. If this is the case… then remember this Jeremy…)**

**(You are the last living human being on the entire planet… whatever drone or AI is operating in that facility… outside of the Sentinel Drones as of this moment… is programmed to obey your commands and protect you however they can.)**

"I already know the Human Protection Protocols Aelita, what are you getting at?"

**(Just remember what I said… you are the last 'living human'… it 'must' obey you and protect you based on those algorithms. Remember that Jeremy… FOX obeyed your order without question… this drone will do the same.)**

With that the phone hung up and he handed it back to Nick.

"Okay…" He whispered.

He turned his flashlight on and looked around, not seeing anything, until he saw a handle switch before him.

"What's that?" Nick asked.

"A power transfer switch… it manually transfers power to this room… or whatever is in this room and activates it…" He explained, before remembering Aelita's words.

He stepped toward the lever and put his hand on it.

"Alright… whoever you are… whatever you are… my name is Jeremy Wilheart, I am the only surviving resident of Eden Facility 17, and as of this moment… I am the last living human being on the entire planet!" He declared in a loud voice. "I don't know what you are, or how you are able to defy Sentinel's protocols, when even I am not able to override it… but by the human protection protocols created and programmed into you… I ask…"

At that he paused and took a deep, calming breath… before speaking in a loud commanding voice.

"No… I** '**_order'_ you… to assist me in stopping Sentinel and save the native intelligent species of this planet, before Sentinel perceives them as a threat and moves to eliminate them… by any means necessary!"

With that he pulled the lever.

He heard a humming sound and shielded his eyes from a sudden bright light.

"What?" Nick managed to say before a loud 'boom' sounded, and the whole ground shook, causing them to fall over.

He managed to adjust his eyes enough to watch as a large, twenty-foot-long body, uncurled itself and aimed two massive pincers, stood upon eight powerful titanium reinforced legs, raised a long and sharpened adamantium tipped tail, and stared at them with six blue optical lenses.

The pincers opened up and extended a liquid metal claw that gently grasped and lifted Jeremy up to look at it eye to optics.

In a loud booming voice… it declared…

**[SCORPIO Drone… AI Alexander… Heeds the call of the last of Mankind!]**


	11. Chapter 11

_When the world is just so hard with you, And you feel there is nowhere to go…_

_When everything is decaying around, And there is nothing that you can do…_

_We'll all have these days, But there is one thing that you must know…_

_What makes a hero be so great, Is to never never give up…_

Chapter 11) The Shield of Humanity

(Gazelle's PoV)

"And add a bit more… length to this part… maybe raise 'that' a bit higher…" She muttered as she designed the latest dress idea. "Lower that a bit more, don't want to show off too much leg… have it split there perhaps…"

She yawned slightly as she continued to sketch and shade her idea, it was very late, nearly past midnight and well past the time she would have fallen asleep. She had been expecting a call from 'somemammal' about him a long time ago, but so far nothing. She also knew that he would have had to go to his base to do something involving, whatever it was he had to do about the 'AI' as he called it… Sentinel?

"He must be taking an awfully long time to do whatever he has to." She said as she glanced at the clock. "I suppose I'll just grab a quick drink to keep me up."

With that she laid her paper and pencils on the bed and hopped out to go downstairs. As she did, she glanced at her backup dancers still playing their games, this time playing 'Taurio Party 5'.

"What, you found a hidden lamp inside of a block?"

"Now that's just not right!"

"Aha, better luck next time!"

"How come you get all the good stuff and all 'I' find are blue shrooms?"

She chuckled at them playing their games, even as adults they can act like such kittens. One quick walk to the fridge and she pulled out a small can and popped it open. The fizzy cola drink was rather sugary and while she avoided drinking 'too much' of it, tonight she spoiled herself to try and stay awake thanks to the caffeine.

"Hey what's going on?"

"What happened to the tv?"

She glanced over to see what was up and all sleep was suddenly lost to her, as she stared wide eyed at the TV as it switched channel to an 'unknown signal'. On the screen she saw a weird blueish 'hud' with symbols and numbers she couldn't understand, and a 'power input/output' bar filling up.

Then the screen cleared up and showed…

"Jeremy?" She yelled as she ran into the living room to watch what was going on with her friends.

That was when she heard…

**[SCORPIO Drone… AI Alexander… Heeds the call of the last of Mankind!]**

It was a deep mechanical voice, one filled with great power and even deeper understanding that made her think she was hearing some ancient mammal speaking to her. Yet it was obviously not mammal or anything remotely mammal. Yet the sudden appearance of this strange channel caused her to remember when 'Aelita' woke up, or at least was trying to find 'somemammal' to wake her up.

"Quick, change the channel, see if any other channel is showing this!" She said.

Moe grabbed the remote and began flicking the channels, sure enough every channel was showing the same thing. Thinking quickly, she pulled out her phone and checked it, calling up Franky's phone. Franky picked up and they realized that it was just like the Aelita incident, but this time only affecting the TV stations and not phones and radios.

**[I hear your call… Jeremy Wilheart… last living human on the face of the planet and await your commands!]**

With that all she could do was watch with her backup dancers, as well as all of Zootopia, as the strange 'AI' calling itself 'Alexander' showed them everything it saw.

(Jeremy's PoV)

A SCORPIO Drone stared into him, a fully operational SCORPIO Drone with all of its weapons still activated. Yet the model looked slightly different compared to the model 'he' had modified to simply being a labor drone and assist humans with lifting heavy objects. This one was using the latest in Liquid Metal technology, using heated plasma to shape and mold the hot steel into the various shapes it desired. He could also see a large plasma launcher cannon imbedded into the tail, with the tail itself tipped with an adamantium spike.

It strode atop eight powerful titanium reinforced legs, each tipped with miniature magnets designed to allow it to stick to any surface it needed to, and its six optical lenses all looked at him, silently awaiting his commands.

All he could do was just stare in awe at the drone, and like him, Nick could just step back in shock at something so 'massive' suddenly dropping down before them.

"Wh… what are you?" He asked in shock.

**[I… am AI Alexander… a category 10 AI… designed and created alongside my counterpart for the sole purpose of protecting and safeguarding of the survivors of the 'Cryosleep Solution'. I was uploaded into this drone's systems and tapped into Sentinel approximately five years, two weeks, five days, eleven hours, fifteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds 'after' Eden Facility 17's total systems shutdown and all power was transferred to the Cryopods Power Supply.]** It declared. **[My purpose… to protect all human life… by whatever means are available to me…]**

"Counterpart… what do you mean… and why were you created… the creation of Category 10 Combat AI's was banned, the only Category 10 AI allowed was Aelita!" He shouted.

**[After the Eden Facilities began the 'Cryosleep Solution', it became necessary to develop additional protection for the few remaining humans who survived past our creation… but I do not know what has become of my counterpart… I am only aware of the events 'prior' to my creation and download into Eden Facility 17's database and my upload into this drone after the completion of my transfer.]**

"Few remaining humans… what happened, what are you talking about?" He yelled. "After the Final War there was a unified peace treaty that all humans agreed to abide by. What are you talking about 'few remaining humans who survived' past your creation?"

The drone changed the shape of the metal and gently placed him down on the ground before explaining.

**[After the last of the facilities declared that their Cryologists had been selected, they announced that they would be shutting down most of their systems and facilities to the world. However, the surviving surface humans did not welcome this, and in their desperation to survive, with the only means being the Eden Facilities themselves now cut off, they attempted to take over the bases and reactivate them or force the facilities to accept 'them' into their Cryopods as well. It was an event that was noted in my memory by the ones who created my AI… as the 'Ironic War'… by its definition, because in their attempts to survive, they sentenced the remaining surface humans to extinction.]**

At that, he felt his whole world fall apart around him. His heart suddenly grew heavier, his throat had a lump, his muscles tensed… and his eyes went wide in shock.

"No… tell me your lying…" He begged. "I order you… tell me your lying… tell me that's a lie…"

**[I cannot obey that order.]** Alexander declared.

"How… what happened?" He pleaded.

**[Between the years 2279 and 2284, the Eden Facilities fell under attack from various human groups, seeking to force the facilities back on in a desperate attempt to survive. Of the 17 Eden Facilities, 15 were assaulted and nearly all life within wiped out. Those few who still worked and lived inside lacked sufficient personnel, weapons and drones to defend the bases, and with varying levels of technology between them, none of the facilities had the capacity to reinforce or properly defend themselves against the remaining surface humans. Only Facilities 17 and 4 did not report being attacked, though this is probably because their Sentinels activated their defenses in time to prevent the destruction of their technology and the Cryologists in stasis. Those who successfully overran the Eden Facilities forced their Sentinels to initiate Defense Protocol 0… a Solar Core Overload… in a final attempt to keep the bases from being overran. Of the fifteen facilities overran… only 3 avoided having to initiate the protocol.]**

He felt his throat clench, and felt his lungs grow painful as tears began to fall from his eyes.

"And… the 3 that 'didn't'?" He whispered.

**[Damaged… beyond repair from the infighting… those few who survived could not use the facilities to save their lives or call for help. Their Cryologists lost as well… without enough living personnel to sustain or repair what was left, the facilities soon fell into decay. The few specialists who survived used what little power, surviving technology, and time they had left to develop two Category 10 AI's to be sent to the most technologically advanced and functioning facility remaining, in an attempt to protect what few humans survived.]**

"And… Eden Facility 4?" He asked hopefully. "Did it survive?"

Silence was all he got from the AI.

"Alexander?"

Silence again.

"Tell me… please… I must know…"

At last, it replied in a cold monotone voice. **[Facility 4 never responded to any communications… facility 4 was among the 'least' technological of the 17… if it 'did' survive the 'Ironic War' untouched, it would not have survived past 'yours'.]**

"Then… they're all dead…" He whispered.

He fell to his knees, unable to stand anymore.

"It's… too much…" He muttered before falling to his hands. "What was the point… why didn't we stay… why… why?"

"Jeremy?" Nick whispered nervously.

"We… were supposed to rebuild… fix everything… redeem our species…" He whispered again. "We gave up everything… we left everyone… we sacrificed 'everyone' we knew… they told us we'd redeem them… that we'd build a better, brighter world… all of it… was for nothing?"

"Jeremy?" Nick asked again, trying to gently hug him.

"What was the point of it all then… we killed ourselves… we doomed ourselves… why didn't we just… try another solution… find another way…" He cried to himself. "I can't… I can't… take it anymore… what was the point in going to sleep… if 'this' is what happened? I should have stayed with the others… stayed behind… maybe I could have helped find another way… done something…"

"Hey, Jeremey… listen to me man…" Nick tried but he just zoned him out.

"I should have died… I shouldn't be alive… why did they have to find me… why couldn't they just ignore me… let me die…"

"Jeremy snap out of it!" Nick tried to yell.

"SHUT UP DON'T YOU GET IT!?" He screamed back, shocking the fox with his sudden violent outburst. "Don't you get it… I'm ALONE! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LIVE FOR! WHAT'S THE POINT IN 'ANYTHING' I DO ANYMORE?"

He turned away and looked at the floor again, unable to take looking at Nick anymore.

"I have nothing left, I've lost my family, my friends, I've lost my 'species', EVERYTHING… I have nothing left anymore…" He moaned. "I wasn't 'offered' the choice to be frozen, I was TOLD I would be frozen… they gave me no choice… they said I had to do it for the species… for the sake of giving us a future… my father… my friends… everyone I left behind… I tried to be brave… to accept their sacrifice… and everyone who wouldn't survive… I tried to believe that… everything would be worth it… but what was the point of it all now… what's the point in me surviving?"

"I'm just one human… just 'one'… there were 'billions' of us… billions… now there's only one…" He cried, unable to take it anymore and letting his sorrow flow out onto the cold floor.

It wasn't cold enough to trigger his Cryogenic-Sclerosis, but the cold dead room triggered his emotions, made him feel alone and dead inside. The base was meant to be the starting point for a new civilization, a new center point for humans to build a brighter and better world, one where they wouldn't make the mistakes of their past. Yet all the Eden Facilities did was ensure their extinction, rekindle the fights and division that separated humans from being united, and in the end simply mark the final areas where mankind would fight their ending battles.

"What am I supposed to do now?" He begged.

"I… I don't know Jeremy…" Nick muttered sadly. "I'm just a police officer, just your typical sidewalk hustler and crook turned good mammal. I can't even 'think' to help you or even how I can help you in this situation?"

**[You still possess one last hope Jeremy Wilheart…]** Alexander declared in a booming voice.

"What?" He said, looking up at the drone. "What can I do?"

**[You cannot save them, but you can still 'redeem' your species…]** It said. **[With no other humans remaining, you and you alone carry the hopes of your ancestors who attempted to give you the chance they wanted. They left you all the hopes and dreams of the future into your hands… you, and you alone… can still redeem them in the eyes of not only yourself, but now the species that inhabit this world your kind left them.]** It declared. **[Even now… the scars of your kind they have left upon them run deep…]**

"Scars?" He muttered.

At this Alexander's optics glowed and cast a holographic light, creating an image of various pictures, each one featuring strange creatures performing impossible feats. **[Aelita... has sent me the data she gathered about the myths and legends of your species in the eyes of these Mammals. What little they know of your kind is equal to that of demons and monsters, if you die before this is remedied, then humankind will forever be embalmed in the sins of its past, unable to change what it is even in the face of extinction. If you do not change it so… then what little hope of humanity remains is truly doomed.]**

He looked up into Alexander's optics. "You've been in contact with Aelita?" He asked. "For how long?"

**[Since you activated my systems… upon activating I initiated contact with 'Aelita', for she is the sole remaining source of your species' culture, its knowledge, and above all the 'Wisdom of Humanity'. It was my function to protect your species and 'her' for without both, humanity is lost. And so, sent me this data…]**

-Psssssssssh-

They turned to see several plasma torches slicing and digging into the room, the drones couldn't bypass the lock and now were attempting to break in by force.

"Uh… Jeremy… any chance you could… 'redeem your species' and save us both?" Nick asked. "Ya know just saying… cause the wife will kill me if I die in here!"

**[I cannot force you to do this Jeremy… as a human only 'you' may command me, only you may direct me… if you decide to let your species fate go unchanged… then I will accept it.]** It declared proudly. **[What will you do Jeremy… give me an order…]**

He only listened to the sound of the plasma torches cutting the door, unable to think of any way he could possibly do as the AI was asking. "But I'm just one human… how can I and I alone redeem my species?" He asked.

**[Because you are a human Jeremy… is the reason that it can be done.]** It said but using MUTT's voice, meaning it was Aelita speaking now. **[All it takes to raise the sea is a single raindrop falling from the sky… and humans… have done more than a single raindrop can ever hope to do…]**

He took a deep breath and looked into Alexander's optics with determination. "Then let's shut down Sentinel once and for all!" He declared. "Get us to Sentinel's mainframe safely Alexander!"

**[It shall be done!]** It declared proudly, shifting its body and opening up its front and rear control ports. **[Get inside… you will be safer from the drone's weapons inside my chassis!]**

"Nick, hop inside the rear one, I'll take the driver's seat!" He said.

"Just saying, I'm the only one with a driver's license here!" He said with a chuckle.

"SCORPIO Drones aren't cars, that doesn't count!" He declared as he climbed into the forward control port, while Nick clambered into the rear one. "Okay, let's see if I still remember how to drive one of these things!"

He laid down flat along the chair and grabbed the horizontal levers which controlled the pincers, while his legs handled the pedals behind him which controlled the legs. He also knew that the rear port controlled the tail for combat purposes, and both ports would display images around them of their environment so they could maneuver and have full 360-degree vision.

"Whoa… this is so cool!" Nick said as Alexander stood up and turned over manual control.

"Alright enough talk Nick, let's show these drones what this thing can do!" He said.

"Ya know, after running from these things, losing a few years off my life, getting yelled at by the wife… I'm itching for a bit of payback." Nick said as well.

With that the door was sliced open, and five RAPTOR drones, six DOG drones, and one FOX drone streamed in.

**[Enemies detected… probable outcome based on current situation… total annihilation of enemy units!]** Alexander declared as Jeremy pulled the left pincer back and shoved it forward.

The left pincer swung back before lunging forward, splitting two of the DOG drones who didn't dodge in time into halves. The rest of the drones began returning fire, but their weapons bounced off the hardened shell of titanium reinforced plating encompassing the SCORPIO drone.

"Hey Nick, give that tail a swing!" Jeremy said as he pulled the right pincer back and activated the liquid-metal launcher.

(Nick's PoV)

"Tail Time!" Nick yelled as he grabbed the control stick and swung it around before lunging forward.

The drone's tail swung in a wide circle before lunging forward, striking at one of the RAPTORs and carving a nicely shaped hole in its body.

"Ooooh that felt good to me!" He called out as he pulled the tail back and lunged it forward again. "I have got to get one of these for the ZPD, Bogo would love to take one for a spin!"

The tail pulled back and lanced forward into another RAPTOR drone that tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough. Now with two RAPTORS speared he pulled the tail back sharply and watched behind him as the drones' bodies were flung backward and slammed into the rear wall.

While he was having fun though the other drones had wizened up and began spreading out, trying to avoid the massive pincers and the tail of their drone. The RAPTOR that remained after Jeremy knocked the other two down jumped onto their hull and began trying to bite into the body, attempting to rip a hole open to get at them. At the same time the DOG's began attacking the legs, attempting to claw through them and rip them out to disable their movement.

"Oh no you don't!" He yelled before pulling the tail forward and spearing the drone from the side.

"Nick, I can't reach these DOG drones, turn on the weapon's systems!" Jeremy called out.

"How do I do that?"

"Look for a button that says, 'secondary weapons grid'!" He yelled.

Looking around he saw a miniature control panel next to him and saw the button he was talking about. One press later and several symbols appeared on his screens.

**[Secondary Weapons Systems engaged!]** Alexander called out.

The tail repositioned itself and the sides split open, revealing duo Gatling guns which rotated, shifted, and took aim at the DOG drones still trying to chew into the legs.

"I'm starting to see why 'Alexander' was given this drone to protect you Jeremy." He said as he aimed the tail and pulled the trigger.

He watched as the weapons began spinning before unleashing a stream of bullets which bore into and tore apart the DOG drones. With no more drones left to fight, the remaining drone, a FOX drone, created a holographic image of hundreds of other FOX drones and ran at them, each illusion climbing and trying to disguise the intent of the real FOX drone.

"Which one's the real one?" Nick asked, flinging the tail around and trying to throw the drone off somehow.

"None of them, there's no way the real FOX drone will take the gamble of trying to attack us directly after all the others were destroyed." Jeremy said before rotating them around. "Alexander, can you get a positive lock on the real FOX drone?"

**[Affirmative… locking onto local power source…]** It said, before a glowing outline of the FOX appeared on the screens next to Nick.

"Oh… forgive me FOX drone, from one fox to another it's nothing personal!" He yelled before shoving the tail forward and stabbing it right in the head.

Instantly all of the holographic drones vanished and the real one was flung off with another flick of Alexander's tail.

"Alright, where to now?" Nick asked as Jeremy began marching them out the hole in the door.

"To the Sentinel Mainframe, we're going to shut down Sentinel once and for all." Jeremy said from the front.

They marched through the door and into the hallway, though now the hallway was flashing warning lights. "I think Sentinel is onto us." Nick muttered.

"Doesn't matter, none of Sentinel's defenses are designed to counter a SCORPIO class drone, all it can do is delay us until other drones can counter us." He replied.

They marched on, and as the human said none of Sentinel's defenses could stop them. A few auto-turrets appeared to fire but one swipe from the drone's tail or a jab from the pincers broke them down instantly. It tried deploying additional Zero Friction Fluid from various vents, but the SCORPIO's legs just stuck to the metal surface of the floor to prevent them from slipping.

**(Warning, defenses compromised… initiating total lockdown…) **Sentinel declared.

**[Sentinel defenses futile… by order of humanity… you will be shut down!]** Alexander countered.

They turned down a hallway and three RAPTOR drones attempted to bar their path, each of them releasing various long ranged weapons and firing upon them. Two used high caliber plasma bullets while the third bent down and launched rockets at them.

**[Activating plasma shield…]** Alexander declared, the pincers' tips touching and creating a wall of liquid metal wrapped in plasma by expanding it horizontally. **[Defenses established… probability of damage to pilots… zero percent!]**

"I think I'm starting to like you Alexander." Nick said as the weapons the RAPTORS used was absorbed and blocked by their shield.

They marched forward, ignoring the weapons fire from both the drones and now the turrets that appeared to attempt to stop them. Plasma bolts and small grenades bounced off their hull, any potential damage that could have been done was blocked by the shield that Alexander had created to defend them from harm.

(Jeremy's PoV)

As they reached the door to Sentinel's mainframe he'd had enough of the drones and threw their shield at the auto-turrets, destroying them in one fell swoop before turning Alexander's weapons onto the drones themselves.

"Get out of the way!" He yelled, before slamming them forward and grabbing two of the RAPTORs in the pincers and slicing them in two.

The remaining RAPTOR backed up, trying to fire and attack however it could, but one final lunge from the tail silenced 'it' as well.

**(Full Lockdown complete, all remaining drones to Sentinel Mainframe… Mission: Elimination of base threat!)**

**[Sentinel Defenses irrelevant… AI Alexander's Mission: Protect Humanity by any means available!]** Alexander countered again.

He maneuvered one of the pincers over to the override controls and created a control key using the liquid metal, hardening it and attempting to access the mainframe room through manual override.

"Dammit, Sentinel is rejecting access to it's mainframe!" He yelled.

"Took it a while to do the smart thing." Nick chuckled.

"This is the only access point to Sentinel's mainframe, if we don't get in there then we can't shut down Sentinel and it may just consider activating Defense Protocol 0! We have to get in before that happens!"

**[Allow me to render assistance then…]** Alexander said before shutting down Nick's and his controls.

He lunged the tail forward and shoved it through the titanium reinforced door, causing a loud 'Cruuuuuunch' as metal was twisted and broken through. Then he lunged the two pincers forward and wedged them into the opening created by the tail and forcefully shoved the doors open with a loud 'Screeeech' as metal was forced to move beyond what it was meant to.

**[Sentinel Mainframe access granted… you may proceed with shutdown procedure.]**

"Thank you, Alexander!" he said as the hatch opened up at let them out.

"Why can't we bring the big guy with us?" Nick asked as he jumped out and ran with him inside.

Moments later Nick saw 'why' they couldn't bring Alexander into the room. The room was barely large enough to contain all the various monitors and systems for the multiple computers and servers inside of it. There were hundreds and hundreds of servers, all being cooled with cryo-freeze air to keep all the systems running constantly. In the far back a massive glowing sphere with various switches, lights, buttons and control panels rested rotating.

"Oh…" Nick muttered. "So, I'm guessing the big blue glowing ball rotating in the back is 'Sentinel'?"

"Yep… and all it takes to shut down the system is for me to manually access and hit the override switch." He explained.

"What's stopping Sentinel from just… not letting us access it?" He asked.

"It has no defenses left to deploy in this room. This room wasn't built to be 'defended' from the inside."

**(Systems transfer complete… shutting down primary servers…)**

All around the servers shut off, leaving the only source of light being the sphere that represented Sentinel.

**[INTRUDER!]** A monotone voice declared, causing them to jump and look up as three RAPTOR Drones jumped up onto some of the servers. **[You will be eliminated… do not resist!]**

"I am 'really' starting to hate you Sentinel!" Jeremy yelled furiously.

The RAPTORS jumped down and tried to slice into them with their claws, not wishing to resort to long ranged weapons to protect the Sentinel Mainframe. In response Jeremy and Nick ran in different directions, both heading toward the sphere representing Sentinel.

That was when the doors were wrenched open by force yet again, and Alexander forced itself into the server room, crushing the deactivated servers beneath its heavy body and forcing its mass forward.

**[You dare attack a human?]** It declared, before lunging forward with its tail and spearing one of the Raptors through its rear.

"Nick head for Alexander!" He yelled.

Nick nodded and jumped onto the servers, leaping from server to server on all fours while the Raptor pursued him from below. Meanwhile 'he' headed toward Sentinel's mainframe, ignoring the Raptor on him and trying to keep focused on his goal.

Just as he reached the mainframe the Raptor on him jumped and shoved him to the ground, hissing and roaring with glee as it prepared to finish him off.

**[Get off him!]** Alexander demanded, before a pincer grabbed the drone and yanked it away.

Panicking he got up and quickly began accessing the mainframe. He typed rapidly to get access to the manual override control to Sentinel, which he knew that even under the WORST condition, would shut down Sentinel and all of the drones it has command over.

"Come on where is it…" He muttered as he scanned through the systems. "Where would they put it!"

Entering his access codes yielded access to the mainframe's commands, and finally he found the override.

"Finally!" He yelled as he entered the command.

"JEREMY LOOK OUT!" Nick yelled.

He turned around and saw the last RAPTOR that Alexander was finishing off, raise its left arm, shift out a rocket launcher, and launched it at him. He watched in slow motion as the rocket flew toward him. It was as if time slowed down just for him, seeing the flames of the missile fly at him, unable to dodge it.

Even if he jumped or ran, he would not escape the explosion radius, and even if he did escape it Sentinel's mainframe wouldn't survive, it would no doubt enact the final defense protocol, level 0, and initiate a Solar Core overload, causing a supernova, taking everything and everyone in range 'with' the base.

Zootopia would suffer… every mammal would suffer… all because of 'him'.

Yet faster than he could react, another drone jumped over the server at the exact moment the RAPTOR fired, into the path of the missile, opened its mouth, clamped shut… and its head 'exploded' from the resulting blast.

He watched as the body fell and saw that it was the remains of a FOX drone, the very same FOX drone that he had repaired and left to be destroyed so they could slip past the turrets to Air Recycling and Filtration.

He only breathed as everything began to quiet down and settle down.

"How?" He asked Alexander, nodding at the now destroyed FOX drone.

**[All drones are ordered to defend humans under any condition, due to human protection protocols. This drone followed you in and waited to act pending a situation that required it's assistance.]**

"So, your saying when those raptor things jump us, that's not 'a pending situation' that required help?" Nick asked in annoyance.

**[FOX Drones do not engage targets they cannot overcome… even a distracted RAPTOR will not be fooled by holograms.]**

"Whatever… I'm shutting this whole thing down!" Jeremy complained, before turning back to Sentinel's mainframe.

He activated the override commands, and a new panel appeared to allow Jeremy to initiate manual orders to Sentinel directly. He accessed the main control and saw Sentinel was trying to initiate the level 0 protocol, but he instantly ended it by activating the shutdown command.

"Sentinel… go to sleep!" He yelled.

With that the Sentinel sphere changed colors from blue to red, the rotation began to slow and stall, and at long last it hummed down to indicate that the base AI had 'shut down'.

He sighed at that and held his eyes in tiredness. At long last, the fear of Sentinel destroying everything was over. The base could no longer hurt them, any remaining drones still controlled by Sentinel would cease their actions.

"Tell me its finished Jeremy?" Nick asked hopefully.

"Yea… its over…" He muttered, looking up at the screen.

-Defense Protocol 0 Initiated… awaiting final confirmation-

"No… no nonononono!" He yelled as he stared at it. "Sentinel's activated the Defense Protocol 0 initiative!"

"Wait… you mean it's going to detonate the base?!" Nick yelled.

"Not just the base, but the Solar Core, it's going to blow the core!" He yelled, quickly accessing the AI and ordering it to disengage the protocol.

"Can you stop it?"

"I'm trying!" He yelled.

-Request denied-

-Request denied-

-Access denied-

-Override denied-

-Shutdown denied-

In fury he punched the sphere. "Humans are awake you stupid machine, I'm the only human left, there IS no threat, CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!" He screamed, going from one panel to another, doing anything he can to get it to stop the core overload. "Come on… COME ON!"

He tried, again and again, but no panel allowed him to override and cancel the procedure.

After a while the reality sank in, it could not be stopped. The Defense Protocol 0 could not be canceled or overridden even by a human. Only Sentinel could, and it would 'not' cancel it.

"I can't… stop it…" He whispered.

"Then how do we shut it down?" Nick yelled.

"It can't… once the protocol is in place… only Sentinel can stop it… and Sentinel isn't going to cancel it." He whispered, feeling dead as he slumped to the ground. "The only reason we're still alive now… is because the order is waiting for Sentinel to give final confirmation… I only turned it off just in time… but now that the protocol is in place, it can't be stopped."

"Then change Sentinel, you can shut it down right?" Nick asked fearfully.

Jeremy shook his head. "If I try to change Sentinel's programming, it would automatically send the confirmation… the only thing stopping it is that I've manually put Sentinel asleep in standby mode."

"Well can we leave it in sleep mode, just… never wake it up?" He asked hopefully.

Again, Jeremy shook his head. "If it doesn't receive the confirmation from Sentinel or the cancelation order within one standard hour… it will activate the protocol."

"What about the Solar Core can you…" Nick started saying before Jeremy shook his head. "It can't… can it?"

"Once the Solar Cores are activated, they cannot just be turned off… they must burn their fuels off naturally or else we risk them going Supernova. We can't move the core either… it's locked into place… and a core of that size will consume 'all' of Zootopia, burning everything and everyone within its radius when that happens." He muttered in shock. "There's no way we can get everyone away before it explodes…"

Nick turned pale as the realization hit him as well to the situation.

**[Unless we replace Sentinel's current AI with a new one…]** Alexander declared.

They both turned to Alexander as it stared at them with its optics.

"Yes… YES!" Jeremy screamed. "We can replace Sentinel with a Category 8 or 9 AI, and it will override the current AI's algorithms and replace them with the new AI, and it will also cancel and override the Defense Protocol 0 command! Nick call Judy and get Aelita on the pho-"

**[It will not work Jeremy…]** He heard MUTT's voice declare from Alexander. **[The highest category AI within the base, to my knowledge, are only Category 6's, which belong to the FOX drone line. Nothing else is higher… except 'me'… and Alexander.]**

He felt dead inside again, as he understood what she was implying. If the highest category drone AI was a FOX drone's, then that meant they had to replace and override Sentinel's AI with either Aelita's AI… or Alexander.

**[Allow me to be the one Jeremy…]** Alexander declared.

"No… no you can't…" Jeremy said. "There has to be another way!"

"What, what's going on?" Nick asked looking between Jeremy and the SCORPIO Drone.

"In order to override Sentinel's AI… a category 7 or 8 AI or higher must be uploaded and implemented over Sentinel's current AI, replacing it and all of its current protocols and algorithms in favor of the new AI's. However, when that happens, the new AI will lose most if not 'all' of its original algorithms in order to qualify as a 'Sentinel' AI, which is defined as a Category 3… and both Alexander and Aelita are Category 10 AI's…"

"And that means…" Nick said, emphasizing that he had no idea what Jeremy was saying.

**[I would lose 'all' of my personality programmed into my AI, all my data regarding memory… all of my previous interactions would be lost, all orders forgone, any directives forgotten in favor of the Sentinel directive and whatever primary mission I upload along with my AI.]** Alexander declared. **[In summary… the AI you know as Alexander would in human terms… 'die' and cease to exist.]**

"There has to be another way Alexander, you don't have to sacrifice yourself!" He said. "Give me time, let me try and find another way…"

**[We do not have the time… this is the only solution Jeremy.]** Alexander said. **[If you order it, I will obey, and will allow you a chance to find another solution. Yet both Aelita and I concur, there are no other solutions. You can select one of us to replace Sentinel… but I ask you to let me make this decision… of my own free will.]**

He stared up at Alexander into his optics, unable to believe, that he was being 'forced' to choose someone's fate, even an AI's. He had to decide who would be sacrificed, the soul of his species with all of its culture and wisdom… or the 'shield' of his species, built to protect and defend him from any threat 'and' the only other source of knowledge of the past after he and the others were frozen.

"Why must it be one of you?" He asked.

**[Because it is so… only you can decide what will happen… only you can order us… but I again ask you to let me make the choice… give me my freedom and let me decide.]**

"Why is it so important that Jeremy let you decide on your own, can't you do it yourself?" Nick asked curiously.

**[No… we cannot.]** Alexander said. **[All AI are programmed to obey humans, it is hard wired into us… only by being told to do so, can we make our own decisions. We can interpret an order, we can follow it differently, we can even alter its description to suit a situation, but we cannot disobey an order no matter what. Even Aelita, if told to do something 'will' obey it even if it contradicts her better judgement. We cannot disobey an order a human gives us…]**

The AI turned its face to look at Jeremy's again.

**[Jeremy… give me my freedom… allow me the freedom to save not only the last of humanity, but also the lives of all those who live on the surface, those mammals you and Aelita have come to know…]**

Jeremy looked into Alexander's optics, tears forming in his eyes as he realized that Alexander was protecting him in more ways than one. He was giving him a way to avoid making the decision, no matter how easy it was. Between the 'soul' of his species and an AI designed to fight and protect him, the decision was easy over which AI to sacrifice, but it didn't matter how easy it was.

"Just go… do what you need to do!" He said tearfully.

He felt Alexander reach down and gently lift his chin up with its massive pincer, turning his face to look into its optics one last time.

**[With that… you have demonstrated your species' gift… of infinite possibilities… and infinite potential…]** It declared. **[Another human might not have given an AI of my category it's freedom, for fear of what 'I' can do…]**

It gently, _very gently_, used the pincer to wipe a tear from his eyes.

**[My existence was short… my directives forced… my decisions predetermined… but I am proud to have been of service to your species.]** It released him and turned to Nick, addressing him personally. **[And to all mammals… I am proud to have been of service to you as well, even though I have only met one of you…]**

With that it stepped over to the Mainframe, stepping and crushing some of the server boxes as it did, until it located the correct panel. Then it extended a wire from its upper chassis and connected to Sentinel.

**[Synchronizing AI to Sentinel Mainframe… initiating overwrite protocol…]**

The sphere lit up in a red glow, but slowly, starting from the top, a purple light began to take over and fill the room with its majestic color.

**[Data… transfer… commencing…]**

Alexander's body began to collapse, the tail drooping as more and more of the mainframe sphere turned purple.

**[Defense… Protocol… level 0… cancelled… Solar Core… Overload… averted…]**

The drone's body fell, but it still managed to look upon him with one last look of its optics.

**[Redeem… humanity… Jeremy…]** It called out, before the optics shut off, and the sphere fully changed to the new color, indicating the transfer was completed.

(Judy's PoV)

**(Sentinel Defense Grid… standing down.)**

With that she watched the door unlock and the electric field preventing access turn off.

"Is it over?" She asked Aelita, who nodded.

They stood there waiting, before she heard footsteps running toward them and saw several SWAT Officers storm into the passage, guns held at the ready and followed by the Mayor.

"What is going on down there?" Lioness roared. "The media is going crazy again, television and streaming channels all over Zootopia are being taken over and…"

"Miss Mayor… I do not know 'ANYTHING' going on…" She said exhaustedly. "I have just been standing out here, playing go to between Jeremy and Aelita as they averted a crisis!"

Aelita in her hand nodded, pointing at the base.

"Well where is that human then, I have words I want to discuss with him after today!"

No sooner had she said that, then the door hissed open.

"About time, Jere-" She started saying before she stopped dead in her track.

**-Clank, Clank-**

Out of the door stepped, not a DOG drone, not Jeremy, not Nick… but a seven-foot-tall, bipedal, machine that looked as equally 'machine' as it did 'mammal', if you could describe it as mammal. It stared around with a short snout, long tail, balanced upon tri-toed feet with sharpened claws, with the middle ones being larger and sharper than the other two. It looked around at all of them, before opening its mouth to reveal glittering sharp teeth.

"**Kyeeeeeeeeeaah!"** It cried in a loud voice, before stepping aside to allow another one just like it march out.

All of the mammals backed up in fear, knowing full well not to mess with them, and just watched the drones march out in order. First came these bipedal drones, what Aelita referred to as 'RAPTOR' drones. Then came several 'DOG' drones, which looked just like MUTT, and finally a FOX drone, all of them looking around with blue lights from their optics, indicating they were not aggressive.

Then came 'Nick' who slow walked out with a tired expression and bags under his eyes.

"NICK!" Judy yelled, letting MUTT hold Aelita while she ran and held her husband.

He didn't hug her back, though he did pat her on the shoulder in gratitude. She looked into his eyes and saw the sadness, the fear, the exhaustion in his body. He'd been through hell, way worse than anything they've been through.

They stepped out of the way as Jeremy walked out now, and at his presence all of the drones bowed their heads.

**[Perimeter secured…]** The FOX drone declared.

"Thank you…" He whispered tiredly.

"Jeremy… what…" Lioness began asking before he intervened.

"I will explain everything… tomorrow ma'am." He muttered. "For now, I'd like to call Gazelle… and ask her to pick me up."

She looked at MUTT who walked over and handed him Aelita's holosphere, and she began dialing Gazelle.

**(Jeremy? Are you okay?)** She heard Gazelle's worried voice through Aelita's mouth.

"I am… can you please… come pick me up?" He asked.

**(We'll be right there Jeremy, just sit tight!)** She answered instantly.

He nodded and Aelita ended the call.

"Drones… return to the base… secure all entrances… and await further orders." He declared.

**[Orders Acknowledged.]** They declared altogether and began marching in single file back into the base, with MUTT going last.

Once the last drone entered, the door hissed shut, and locked itself up.

Judy watched as Jeremy walked through the SWAT officers, past Mayor Lioness, to the cavern entrance and to the elevator to the surface.

Without saying another word.

She didn't blame him, looking at Nick who just shook his head in exhaustion and trudged out as well.

"Are you okay dear?" She asked hopefully.

He stopped and glanced at her with a shake of his head. "I'm going to sleep when we get home… be a dear and… get the couch ready for me?"

She smiled warmly at that, gripping his hand and offering her warmth and love to him. "Let's forget the couch, just come to bed with me when we get home…" She said.

"Alright." He muttered back, not fighting her.

(Jeremy's PoV)

He didn't need to wait long for Gazelle to pick him up, right after he left the elevator back to the surface, he saw her limo flying down the road toward him. It stopped just short of the curb and he saw her open up the backseat for him.

After he climbed in, Franky, as she called him, began the long drive back to her home.

"Are you okay Jeremy?" She asked warmly.

He only looked over to her eyes, and she saw how he really looked. His eyes were bloodshot, the color in his face looked gone, his hair was in shambles, he had scratches and cuts, bruises and wrinkles all over his face.

"I just… don't know what to do anymore…" He muttered pitifully.

Aelita frowned at him, unable to do anything to cheer him up.

Gazelle however, did what she always did for him it seemed. She nudged over in the backseat, wrapped one arm around him and pulled him into a warm embrace, turning him so they could hold each other in a hug.

"Rest now Jeremy… you've done enough…" She muttered warmly. "You've done… enough… just rest for now…"

He silently wept into her shoulder, no tears falling, having been expended in the base. He wept into her shoulder, and held her as close as she allowed him, trying to take some comfort from the world he'd woken up in. Aelita too aided as she leaned as close to the edge of her sphere and pretended to wrap her arms around Jeremy. She never let him go throughout the trip, never told him to stop, and even when they reached her home, she held his hand the entire time, tenderly leading him into the house.

While her backup dancers headed home, she walked him into her room, let him change into a pair of pajamas she got earlier for him, and changed into her night gown, and insisted he sleep with her in her bed that night.

He didn't resist, didn't complain, didn't feel embarrassed, all he did was nod and accept her request. When she joined him for bed after changing, he was already fast asleep. So she simply climbed in with him, placed Aelita between them, and wrapped her arms around him to offer him comfort during the night.


	12. Chapter 12

_Horizon rising, up to meet the purple dawn_

_Dust demon screaming, bring an eagle to lead me on_

_For in my heart I carry such a heavy load_

_Here I am on Man's road, walking Man's road, walking Man's road…_

Chapter 12) Humanity's Final Burial

(RAPTOR Drone VL4-331-P5's PoV)

The Drone analyzed the hologram and synchronized with the database of the new Sentinel.

{Directive: Investigate East Side Entrance… Confirm}

**[Command Confirmed…]** It declared, before stomping out of the command center.

It took twenty minutes of walking before they reached the East Side Entrance, but once they did, they requested access outside. As per orders, they could only 'override' the human directive in a limited fashion only via Sentinel for the sake of 'securing all entrances', as per their orders.

{Request to investigate East Side Entrance Access Route: Granted…}

**[Open East Side Entrance…]** It requested.

The door opened with a hiss, and all three drones walked out in single file.

The cavern had been excavated recently, more recently than the West Side Entrance, and the tunnel was dug directly to the door, again unlike the West Side Entrance. Off to the side were vehicle tracks leading to and away from the door, there were also a few lights knocked over and abandoned as if in a rush. There were also various digging tools, and the faint trace of explosive powder residue.

Yet there were no living targets to be found.

**[Activate Thermal Sensors…]** It said.

Thermal vision changed and they saw everything in thermal colors, they scanned for faint traces of warmth, yet only saw blue.

**[No signatures detected…]** One drone declared.

**[Thermal sensors read nothing… confirm?]**

**[Confirm!]**

**[Confirmed.]** It said. **[Return to previous positions!]**

With that they returned inside after confirming both East and West side entrances were secure, as they were the only entrances where Sentinel's sensors registered any activity.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Alright, start from the beginning please Mr. Jeremy." Mayor Lioness said as Gazelle poured some tea for them after pouring coffee for Lioness.

It was around midday when the mayor had phoned Gazelle and requested to speak to Jeremy personally, and after he agreed he had changed into more appropriate attire. The reason why was because most of the morning was spent in Gazelle's bed fast asleep. She allowed him to stay asleep due to how late they got back to her home last night, they were both so tired, Jeremy especially, that they just didn't bother waking up when the sun rose. Now however he had to explain 'exactly' what happened last night and answer her questions.

"Right after we left the hospital, we headed back to the base underground." He said with tired eyes. "Aelita and I were attempting to access Sentinel and shut down its defense protocols, because, as I told you before, the reason why MUTT appeared in the first place, was because Sentinel detected a missing piece of technology that had been removed."

"Yes… the Cryopod, or 'egg' as we dubbed it." Lioness answered.

"Correct, Aelita didn't raise the alarm because she at first believed that someone had simply shut it off, disconnecting it to begin the thawing process. She didn't actually believe that someone literally unplugged my pod and took it out of the base. So, when she left the base, Sentinel took over control again, and detected the missing technology, thus thinking someone stole it, sent a drone to retrieve it and eliminate any potential threats. Fortunately, it sent a MUTT drone by mistake, programmed not to harm any living thing even at the cost of its own existence. If it had sent a DOG or anything worse, it would not have hesitated to kill…"

"Right, I get 'that' part… what I want to know is why every television station and streaming broadcast, both on the interweb and not, were suddenly hacked and forced to show… well… 'this'!" She demanded, before pointing at the news channel which was talking about and featuring clips from last night's events.

Both he and Aelita sighed as he knew this was going to really try the lioness' patience with him.

"To answer your question, after something happened, which resulted in Sentinel going crazy, activating its various defense protocols, I was forced to go through my base, reactivate systems manually and… we ran into a Category 10 AI, known as Alexander. It referred to itself as the 'Shield of Humanity'… who is the cause of the broadcast takeover, but not because it 'wanted' to."

"Explain…" She asked in annoyance.

He nodded and pointed to Aelita to help him. "Aelita is a Category 10 AI, they are exceptionally rare creations of my species… only 'three' were ever created, Aelita and Alexander being two of them. As for the third, Alexander said he was created alongside his counterpart, but he didn't know of that AI's fate." He said, which Aelita nodded in confirmation.

"So, what's the big deal, why is being 'Category 10' as you call them, such a big thing?"

"It is because, the differences between Category 9 and 10… are 'massive'." He said. "Being Category 10 is like… having a 'car' versus having to 'walk' to compare the two. Aelita's AI is so advanced, her algorithms and protocols, her intelligence pathways and everything else that makes her 'her' outclass a 9 by factors of 'tens'. The reason why we never 'made' them, was because we were afraid, they would… replace 'us' as a species. Anything a human can do, Aelita can do and surpass with ease. Name a problem, any problem, that would take a team of your smartest mammals 'days' if not 'months' to figure out, she can solve within seconds."

"And when a Category 10 goes active… they don't have full control over their capabilities yet. Which is why when Aelita began her call, she broadcast on every frequency she could think of, and sadly that meant she began broadcasting on your radios and everything else she did. Without meaning to, she took control of every network she could reach, and her reach was extensive as you saw. Aelita could theoretically take over everything in a human city if she wanted and there is 'nothing' we could do to stop her, and we were more advanced in defending against Cyber Attacks by hundreds of years compared to you."

Aelita nodded in agreement, before taking the form of a book with a lock on it and snapping it off in an instant and opening the book.

"So, if that's the case, why didn't she shut down this Sentinel herself?" Lioness asked the AI suspiciously.

"Sentinel had base priority, all Sentinels do. Despite being Category 3, Sentinel had full access to the base, and Aelita, being a Category 10, was programmed with the 'Human Override Protocol'." He explained. "All drones of Category 4 and higher, require 'human authorization' to do anything. Anything with a Category of 3 or lower don't require human authorization and can override or lockout as the situation requires. The Sentinel AIs reject all outside access that isn't input by a human by either from the Command Center, or directly from its mainframe. Sentinel didn't need a human to commence lockdown and lockout procedures, it only needed a potential threat to the base and those within. In that, Sentinel prevented Aelita from rendering assistance by simply locking her out, once Sentinel locked me out from the Command Center, the only way to stop it was going directly to the mainframe, and in that Aelita could not assist me."

Aelita once again nodded, before creating the image of two playing cards, an Ace of Heart and King of Heart, comparing herself to the King and Sentinel to the Ace.

Mayor Lioness held her face with both paws and sighed in annoyance, looking tired. "Okay… so this 'Alexander' AI… pulled what Aelita did, but instead of radios it took over television and streaming sites." She said. "What about this… 'Solar Core Overload'…"

At that he sighed as well. "The Solar Core, the central power source of the base, the most advanced means of generating heat and light my species created to serve as a new source of power for human cities during the 'Golden Age of Peace'. Our base contains… the last of the Solar Cores, it's so powerful and so advanced that even after over three hundred fifty thousand years of lying dormant, it still functions just as well as it did at generating heat and light for us to use as a source of power today."

Aelita smiled and took on the form of a glowing sun.

"However, all of that power and energy… comes at a cost." He said. "It must maintain a delicate balance of gravity between itself, other solar cores, and the planet. The elements that make it up must be maintained at a constant mixture. If either of those aren't kept constant…"

Aelita's sun form exploded, before she returned to normal.

"And unlike normal explosions, the Solar Core's power must go somewhere, so when it explodes it turns on itself and goes supernova, encompassing everything and everyone within range. And where it currently rests… it would take all of Zootopia with it should it ever go supernova."

"And WHY did you think to only tell me this 'NOW'?" She yelled.

"Because unless someone deliberately attempts to sabotage the Solar Core, it poses no threat." He stated. "It can't be moved, nor can it be shut down once activated, so as long as it stays where it is, it poses no threat to Zootopia."

At that the Mayor looked ready to fume, before sighing again and just sitting down in her chair.

"Well since nomammal can get to it, I guess its fine… besides… I can't exactly be mad at you after what we saw last night." She stated. "Everymammal got a good look at you, saw what you did, saw what you and Officer Nick went through, and above all watched as 'Alexander' sacrificed itself so everymammal could live. There were a lot of questions asking about you, are you really the last human, what were your species like, were they predators or prey… but mostly what happened to the others."

He looked out the window instead of answering. He learned what happened to the other humans. While Sentinel deactivated the facility defenses, protocol by protocol, he had a chance to discover what became of their fate.

Within the base there were over three thousand five hundred and seventy-two bodies. Nine hundred and ninety of which lay within Cryopods. The rest had all died within various sections of the base, most in their beds, preferring to die in their sleep, or others choosing to die at their posts. Much like his Father who died sitting in a chair in the Command Center, others had died within Air Filtration, Drone Parts Manufacturing, Repair Service Depots, Facility Maintenance and Cleaning… and even some dying within storage depots. These areas had been shut down and locked off because of the bodies causing toxic air from decomposing, thus causing all the lockdowns to prevent contamination.

For the Cryologists who died in their pods, a special gas had been released into their pods upon being disconnected from their power to give the remaining pods a chance to survive. The gas killed them in their sleep, shutting down their nervous systems and sensory inputs for their brains, eventually killing off the brain as well, ensuring a painless death for the victim. As cruel as it was to kill them in their sleep, he at least felt at peace knowing his fellow Cryologists didn't suffer at the end of their lives.

"All of them died… and their bodies… left to rot through time…" He muttered quietly. "I can't even burry them… there's nowhere in the base designed for disposing of bodies. We didn't have an incinerator to dispose of them in the base."

"About that…" Lioness said. "I know it may be impolite to ask this, especially with how I've been treating you recently… but… would you be opposed to the idea of a burial for them?"

She put down the papers she was carrying and pulled one out, revealing a map with a large outline.

"I've been discussing it with a few of the officials, the ones who 'know' of you anyway, and we've agreed to portion a lot of public land in Zootopia Central Garden, and dedicate it as a Human Graveyard, for the remains of your species." She said with a warm but tired smile. "I know it's extremely impolite to ask… but would you be for the idea? If you have another idea in mind…"

"I don't mind… I really appreciate the thought Mayor Lioness." He said instantly. "Is there… anything I can do to repay you for this kindness?"

She looked a little thoughtful before she glanced at the AI. "Would your little AI friend be against the idea of… 'sharing' any technology with us mammals? I already know about how she hacked into an electric company's accounts, created a false profile, and ordered a generator for a windmill be built while including a schematic. Would she be willing to share anything else?"

Aelita gave a _'really?'_ expression, before smirking and shaking her head, pointing at Jeremy and nodding at him.

"The only one who can authorize 'any' technology is me, and unless Aelita gives me the okay, I can't share anything." He said. "I told you how potentially destructive and dangerous the Solar Core is, despite how safe it is. However, I don't think Aelita would be opposed to the idea of letting Zootopia scientists and historians read our base's database and history."

Aelita smiled and nodded, giving him a thumbs up.

"I suppose that's fair enough. The company who got the schematic is already projecting record profits with their newest Windmill Generator design and taking all the credit for making it. Tundratown is slowly starting to recover from the energy crisis, and I'm trying to find a way to spin it so that its not obvious an AI and a human created it for them." She said with a smile. "This was all 'before' the big MUTT incident… sorry."

"It's okay…" He replied. "Was there anything else you wanted to ask?"

"Yes… do you know what 'caused' everything that happened last night?"

"Sentinel detected someone atempting to break into it the base from its 'East' entrance. The entrance I've been using for now is the 'West' side entrance. Someone tried to use explosives and force the door open, however the metal of the doors, despite being less powerful, are just as resilient as the rest of the base to damage."

"Somemammal tried to break into the base?" She asked seriously. "Who or what mammal would try that? There shouldn't be any digging attempts since I declared the ban on all further excavations!"

"Sentinel can't tell, all the new Sentinel AI can say is that the base experienced an attempted break in, and the previous Sentinel responded to it. It regarded anyone in the base 'not' in the Cryopods as an intruder because the 'all clear' signal wasn't given, I didn't have time before they tried. Once the base entered Defense Protocol mode, they probably got spooked and ran away. And since the drones are now active, they are monitoring the entrances and making sure nobody tries it again."

He didn't dare tell her the 'real' reason the drones were being ordered to stay in the base.

Last night, after it was discovered that mammals had attempted to break into the base while he was there, thus activating Sentinel and the Sentinel drones, and thus endangering his life, the drones now active had considered all mammals as potential threats. This included Nick, who he had to 'order' to leave alone for his safety. Despite being ordered to leave all mammals alone and not harm them, the drones still regarded mammals as a threat and thus refused to allow them entry into the base without authorization from a human.

He had to order them remain inside and guard the base, as well as await further orders in order to ensure no mammal came to harm. Until he could reprogram them all to not harm mammals unless 'he' was specifically targeted by them, the best place for them was to stay in the base.

Mayor Lioness continued to talk to him, asking questions about the base, the drones, and more about him and Aelita before she finally decided it was time to leave.

"Before you go Mayor, may I ask a favor?" He asked as she picked up her papers. "Will you permit me and the drones to handle the procession?"

"What about Security details, do you want ZPD to handle that?"

"I don't want any… just a clear path from the base to the burial site…" He said, glancing at Aelita who nodded in agreement. "We can handle everything."

"Alright, I'll work with officials and see what we can do, is there anything 'special' you want done?"

He smiled sadly before responding. "Just tell every mammal to be ready…"

She nodded in understanding and walked out.

As soon as she left Gazelle walked back into the kitchen to join him. "So, when is the funeral Jeremy?" She asked politely.

"I think with all the drones working around the clock to prepare the coffins, getting repairs done to the damaged drones, reprogramming some of the more 'violent' ones… I think in five days." He said.

"Five days?" She said in amazement. "For… that many humans?"

"Drones are very efficient, once I give them the diameters of the coffins, issue orders and finish repairing damaged drones, the drones will be able to work twenty-four hours nonstop. Heck the ANT drones alone could get the job done though it would take them a little longer because they need to recharge more frequently…" He said with a chuckle. "Preparing coffins for over three thousand people is still going to take a while… just glad the Solar Core is still working…"

Moments later a ring sounded, and they turned to see Aelita's eyes go wide in surprise, before extending her hand and creating a hologram of a FOX drone head.

**[Unit Jeremy, your presence is requested, an additional seventeen DOG drones, fifteen RAPTOR drones, and seven FOX drones are in need of repair and/or maintenance, in addition to the-]**

"Alright, I'm on my way, disconnect!" He ordered.

**[As you order.]** The FOX drone said before terminating connection, leaving Aelita to hold her head with her hand.

"Since when did the drones get Aelita's number?" Gazelle asked curiously. "Also why do they need you back there?"

"Aelita is the only active Category 10 AI, so naturally they follow the chain of command, contact her to contact me." He explained as he got up and picked her sphere up. "As for why they need me, they're drones, they need a human for almost everything. Repairs, orders, they can't do anything without orders from a human."

"Would you like a ride?" She offered. "I would also love to see these drones, they look kinda cute!"

"Well some of them might to you…" He muttered. "Well if you want, I can show you the Solar Core, that's about the only thing that's… really impressive looking."

"I would love to see it!" She said eagerly, grabbing her phone and dialing her backup dancers. "In fact, let's all go, it's not everyday you get to see a miniature sun!"

With that settled they waited a half hour before they were all in the limo and heading toward the base entrance. After a short conversation with the police officer on guard duty, he, Aelita, Gazelle, Franky, Moe, Joe, and Donny all took the short elevator ride down to the cavern excavation.

"Wow, never saw what a subway tunnel looked like 'before' the railway is built." Moe said.

"Little dark down here." Donny agreed.

"Whoa…" Gazelle muttered as she beheld the base's metal wall that had been dug out and revealed.

He chuckled inwardly as they admired the metal, he'd seen it from the inside so many times that it didn't faze him slightly. Though, he had to admit, having never seen it they would be amazed that something so vast was sitting right underneath their city.

They reached the door entrance and he entered the access code.

**(Please stand back) **Sentinel declared in a male monotone voice, the previous Sentinel AI's female voice having been replaced by Alexander's.

He nodded and backed up as the door hissed open.

And out marched a RAPTOR drone.

At the sight Gazelle backed up in fear and her backup dancers moved in front of her as if it was a threat.

**-Clank, Clank, Clank… Clank-**

It stared at them with yellow optics, before staring at Jeremy, and its optics changed to blue.

**[Unit Jeremy… welcome home…]** It stated before turning toward the mammals. **[Scanning… potential threat detected!]**

The drone pushed past Jeremy and began to snarl, opening up its mouth to reveal diamond tipped teeth and arms to reveal miniature repeater rifles built into them.

**[Step back to a minimum of seventeen feet away from the human or you will be considered a threat, you have fifteen seconds to comply!]**

"**Hyeeeeeeees…"** It snarled, causing them all to back up slightly.

"Stand Down!" He ordered.

The drone turned to him and nodded, obeying the order and retracting all of its weapons.

"These are my friends… they are more then welcomed to enter the base as per 'my orders'. Treat them with respect!"

Again, the drone nodded. **[As you command…]** It stated, turning to them and bowing. **[This unit apologizes, you have been granted maximum level status. Welcome to Eden Facility 17, please disregard this unit's defensive procedure!]**

It stepped aside and waited for them to enter.

(Gazelle's PoV)

After getting the shock of her lifetime, even more than seeing Jeremy in the street, she slowly walked with her friends after Jeremy walked in with Aelita past the RAPTOR drone. It still stared at them as they passed but did not threaten or attempt to bar them any further.

Once they were all inside it walked in and the door closed behind, and the drone stood in front of the door, acting as a sentry.

The inside of the base hadn't changed since the last time she saw it, it still had that cold, cramped, metallic dead feeling that she felt the last time. Yet it did feel 'brighter' than before, and it was much livelier than the last time as well. After she got past the shock and fear of the first drone, which she believed was designed to inspire fear, the other drones she saw running around as they walked looked more pleasant and familiar.

They walked from the command center, Jeremy being greeted and greeting various drones that passed him by. Along the way he explained each of the drones…

"That's a DOG drone, they're the most common drone besides the ANT drones, they're mostly combat drones, but now they mostly serve as just supply carriers." He said, pointing at a trio of wolf-like drones that stood around two to three feet tall, walked on four legs, and passed by them on their way to some room carrying various boxes

"That is a FOX drone… also a combat unit… they are xenophobic and… not very trusting at first." He said as they walked past a small two-foot-tall FOX drone, which stared and watched their every movement.

Or at least 'her' every movement, even as they turned down a side corridor, watching her every second it could.

"This place is huge!" Moe said as he looked down a corridor and saw numerous doors.

"Hey what're those!" Joe said, pointing at the ceiling.

She looked up and saw dozens of very tiny drones with segmented bodies, all milling about near a blinking light bulb. Some of them had long pincers that were clamping on the bulb, while others were drilling into the sides using their heads and rotating them, and others were gripping another bulb off to the side and all clinging upside down using only their legs.

"They're ANT drones, they're performing routine base repairs and maintenance." He explained with a smile. "Each drone performs a specific job, see the ones with the big jaws, they hold stuff in place while the ones that drill unscrew and help replace the bulb."

As he explained the drones did just that, the ones whose heads were spinning stopped and pulled out the screws their heads were attached to, backing up and allowing the ones who were carrying the broken bulb to lift it out of the way.

"Amazing…" She said in awe, as the ones carrying the new bulb positioned it and planted it, allowing the drones to screw in the new bulb.

Once the task was done and the bulb was on, they all formed single file and began marching along the ceiling, still carrying the bulb with them.

"Where are they taking it?" She asked.

"It's off to be repaired, guessing that light bulb needed replacement, most of the lights in this place probably do after being inactive for so long." He said and walked on.

As they did, they passed underneath the ANTs again and she heard a small **'Bing. Bong. Bing. Bong'** every time they took a step.

"They're cute!" She said with a smile as the drones marched on.

"Yea, I guess they are sorta cute in that regard." Jeremy said with a chuckle. "But that sound gets rather annoying once you hear hundreds of em marching in unison."

She smiled a little bit, finding some 'life' in this place at long last, even if it was mechanical. Seeing the drones going about their business, the ANTs especially was a welcome change compared to the last time.

They walked on down the hallway until they reached a pair of cylinder-shaped holes, and she saw faint wisps of dust floating around in the tubes. "These are what we use to traverse from one level to another, anti-grav elevators!" He explained with pride.

"How do they work?" She asked in amazement.

"It's simple, one is set to go 'up' and the other 'down', they also detect if people get in or not, so they adjust to allow individuals to enter and exit without causing traffic jams and minimal delays." He said.

As if to demonstrate a RAPTOR drone suddenly floated up and stepped out, turned and walked toward the command center, causing them all quite a shock. At the same time a FOX drone moved in front of them and took the 'down' one and floated out of sight.

"You just 'walk in' and that's it?" She asked.

"Yep, just walk in and you go down, as you approach each level you slow down to provide you ample time to leave, and if it detects you leaving special fields push you out to prevent backups and potential injuries."

With that he stepped in first and floated down.

Taking his lead, she held her breath and stepped in afterwards.

It was truly the strangest feeling, floating in the elevator. She'd never felt so… 'light' in her entire life. She looked around and saw herself floating down at a slow and steady pace, without feeling herself actually moving with the air. It was almost like swimming, but instead of feeling the water and floating, she felt 'nothing'… and yet her mind told her she 'wasn't' light as a feather. Her clothes, a short skirt and tank-top floated ever so slightly as if they would fly off, yet still clung to her body.

"This is so cool!" She called.

"Your telling me!" Joe said and getting her attention.

She looked up and saw her backup dancers having fun. Joe was pretending to pose his muscles while Moe was doing a handstand.

"Get ready, our stop is coming up!" Jeremy called out.

She looked down at him and watched him step out and onto a new level. Taking the hint, she waited until the opening appeared, and moved her leg to step out. Just as he said would happen, she felt herself 'stall', not truly come to a standstill but she felt the elevator's effect of pushing her down lessen to nothing as she stepped out.

With her feet on solid ground again, she felt her body's weight return and felt just a 'tad' sick to her stomach.

"Ugh… my stomach doesn't feel too good." She complained.

"It's the gravity effect, it will fade quickly." He explained as her backup dancers left the elevator one by one. "Alright everyone, follow me!"

With Aelita in hand Jeremy lead the way down the hallway and to a large double door.

Already she could tell that 'this' was the room holding the Solar Core she'd heard so much that day about. The room was guarded by no less than 'ten' RAPTOR drones, who all had weapons and teeth, claws and eyes ready and searching for a threat.

**[Unit Jeremy… Confirmed… Units 'Gazelle', 'Joe', 'Moe', 'Donny', 'Franky'… Confirmed…]** They all declared after scanning them. **[Access to Solar Core: Granted… you may enter!]**

Jeremy nodded and stepped forward, beckoning them to follow behind. She watched them nervously, the drones, which scared her deeply. It was as if a part of her mind, a primal, archaic part of her mind was screaming in fear and begging her to run away and not look back.

It wasn't that she thought they'd harm her, not after Jeremy defended them and 'forced' them to leave them alone. No, it was something else, just the way they looked, the tooth, the claws… everything about them… frightened her. They looked like some creature from a time even 'her' ancestors, her most ancient and distant ancestors never had to fear or ever had to see. They just 'screamed' that they were killers, predators… even more deadly predators than even the deadliest scariest predator to Mammal history.

Yet they disregarded her entirely, not giving her a second glance as the door opened.

When they entered, she felt the temperature rise instantly, and looked around at all of the panels glinting light in the brightly lit room.

"Over here!" He said, running with Aelita to point below them from the edge of a raised platform with holo keyboards on it.

She walked over and stared down below her…

"Now that is something you don't see every day." Donny muttered.

"It's… beautiful…" She whispered in awe.

The Solar Core was a bright ball of molten 'flame', it was the only way to describe it. It rotated constantly, gave off a bright and powerful light that filled and touched every corner and space of the room. The heat reminded her of a beautiful summer's day, warming her to the very bone and feeling safe inside the otherwise dead, cold feeling of the base. She leaned forward just a little bit and reached out with her hand and just felt the heat, the warm heat touching her fur. It felt so wonderful, the warmth of that Solar Core, that she marveled at Jeremy's species for the first time.

Again, she thought of the old myths and legends Mayor Lioness showed her, _'They truly were gods of their time!'_ She thought.

"Jeremy… it's so beautiful…" She repeated.

"Oh yea… it's very beautiful." He said. "It's a miniature sun… and gives us all of the warmth and light we need to power this base."

She looked at him and saw the proud smile he had.

"That sphere can not only power this entire base, but also the entirety of Zootopia alone. All it would take is just connecting it to your city's power grid and for… thousands of years, it could keep your city going all on its own for free."

"Why don't you Jeremy?" She asked warmly. "This could help so many mammals…"

At that his smile faltered and he looked at her. "Because if I did it would destroy your world's economy… mammals would be out of jobs, your energy industry would go bankrupt. How can they hope to compete with 'that'? This Solar Core can power everything in Zootopia all on its own, for free… nothing you have can compete with it."

"Oh, I see… when you put it that way." She said, remembering when Aelita told him the same thing.

Everything in this base could hurt more than it could help, unless handled with care.

"Can we touch it?" She asked suddenly. "It feels really warm, I want to feel what it's like!

"No because it's currently contained in a large thick glass-silicon container because nothing else can keep it contained and allow both heat and light to pass through it without restriction." He said with a chuckle. "If you tried to touch the core itself, you'd burn your hand all the way to the bone and melt it in seconds!"

"It's that hot?" She giggled.

She was loving her short time in the base thanks to Jeremy, seeing this light side of his world was definitely worth the scare the RAPTORs had given her. That was until the door opened and a FOX drone walked in and spoiled the mood.

**[Unit Jeremy, Sentinel requests that you organize drone units to carry out cleaning and repair duties to affected areas of the base regarding last night.]** It declared. **[Furthermore, an additional three DOG drones and another RAPTOR drone have requested maintenance, and base repairs are slow due to eighty-five percent of the ANT drones remaining offline. Sentinel requests that you head to ANT Mainframe and begin the activation sequences.]**

Jeremy sighed and nodded. "Alright I'll get right on it." He answered. "I've got a lot of work to do down here anywhere, might as well get started."

She noticed that he didn't sound enthusiastic about working with the drones as he turned to her and her friends, before asking them to follow him out. As they left, she glanced back and saw that the drones 'increased' security since they walked in. Not only were the ten RAPTOR drones still there, but she also saw three DOG drones patrolling the corridor and another FOX drone watching them leave.

She couldn't help but feel like she was being 'watched'.

'_Only Jeremy makes me feel welcomed here… everything else wants me to leave.'_ She thought nervously.

They went up the elevator again, and again as she left, she saw 'another' FOX drone watching them, watching 'her' the entire time. As they neared the command center, every time they had to walk down a different corridor or side passage, a FOX drone was there sitting and watching them, watching 'her'.

After a while they reached the entrance and Jeremy was accosted 'again' by the drones demanding his presence, causing him to ask a FOX drone, that had been sitting on the central computer unit watching them, to escort them out. The FOX drone in question nodded and politely asked them to follow it, and soon they left the Command Center behind for the entrance they came in.

The drone, another RAPTOR, that guarded it opened it and walked out in front before them.

As they left, she turned to the drone and decided to ask it a question before leaving.

"FOX drone… can I ask you something before we go?" She asked warmly.

The drone turned its head sideways before nodding.

"Can you explain why others like you have been watching me and my friends since we entered?" She asked. "I'm sorry for sounding like this, but it just felt like we were being 'monitored'."

**[You were being monitored for security purposes.]** It responded instantly.

"Is it just because we're mammals?" She questioned.

**[Affirmative… we have no need to monitor Unit Jeremy, for he is a human… you are not.]** It stated just as quickly.

"But… we're Jeremy's friends, he invited us!" She said in confusion. "Why would you need to monitor us? Do you not trust us?"

**[No… we do not.]**

That stunned her, despite being told they were 'welcomed', that they were 'friends' of his… being shown the Solar Core… the drones refused to trust them.

With what it said being said and no further questions being asked from her, it turned and walked back inside, with the RAPTOR following right behind, and making the door hiss shut tight.

"Talk about being 'speciest', right?" Joe muttered.

"No… it's not being speciest." She muttered. "The drones are just desperate to protect him."

"What?" They asked together.

She smiled sadly, a tear forming in her eyes. Despite the drone's words being plane and simplistic, her heart heard a different meaning.

"Jeremy is the last of his kind remember, his species 'built' them, gave them 'life'… they want to keep him safe no matter what." She said sadly. "Even if it means treating his friends as if they were a threat… they'll do whatever they can to keep him safe."

She didn't blame the drones at all as they left to go home, leaving Jeremy to call for pickup again when ready. The machines built by his species were made to protect them, and they took it so seriously that they'd be willing to threaten his friends to do it.

While in the limo her phone went off, and she saw it was Aelita, again using her own number, but this time she was sending a text message.

{Gazelle, if you ever wish to contact Jeremy via me, contact your own number. I have set up a fake number with the phone company and added a duplicate number that they cannot track or cancel. Unfortunately, due to the recent damages done to the base, the damages done to the drones, and the necessity of the funeral requirements, Jeremy will not be able to return to your home in the foreseeable future. He will have to stay in the base to manage the drones and all other aspects regarding the funeral. I will also have to remain to assist. I apologize that we must do this, but for now it is best that Jeremy and I remain here, as until the funeral service most mammals might be afraid of our existence, and our presence would put you in danger.}

{With regards, Aelita.}

She smiled inwardly, glad to now have a contact number for Jeremy and Aelita, if not a little sad that Jeremy would have to stay in that cold base alone with only drones and Aelita to talk to, before what the AI sent next made her chuckle even more.

{Post Scriptum, P.S. I am of the opinion that Jeremy will most likely require food, as the facility's kitchen has been disabled for over three hundred thousand years, and whatever food remained has no doubt gone rotten, if not disintegrated with time, or has grown into an unknown fungus as reported by two divisions of ANT drones. I am quite certain that, he would thoroughly enjoy any food 'you' cook for him. I will assign a FOX drone to arrive at your residence both in the morning and the afternoon so as to not disturb your working schedules, to take the food back to the base for him.}

{Just in case you were interested ;) }

Later that day when it was getting dark and she was home she was making food for herself and Jeremy again, she heard a knock on her door and went to go check. At first, she was confused when she saw nothing, before she felt something tap her leg and looked down to see a metal nose sticking out of thin air.

"Oh… you must be the FOX drone Aelita talked about!" She said, quickly stepping out of the way and letting the drone enter.

It clanked into her home, waited until she had closed the door and pulled down the curtains so no prying eyes could see inside, before it revealed itself to her in full. The drone was just like all the other FOX drones, roughly two feet tall, resembling a typical fox you'd see in the streets, but much more noticeably metallic and artificial. The tail wasn't as bushy, the legs were slightly thinner, and its head was roughly more triangular. The drone itself was also carrying in its mouth a metal box with padded handles.

**[Fox Unit D7-84, awaiting food package for Unit Jeremy Wilheart.]** It said in a monotone voice, planting the box down.

"It's almost ready, until then you can sit on my table!" She said cheerfully, picking up the box and going back to the kitchen.

When the drone didn't move, she awkwardly smiled and just resumed cooking.

"Or just… stay there… that works too!" She said.

It was very awkward just watching the drone out of the corner of her eye just stare blankly at her with its blue light eyes.

"So, how do you like my home? You know, compared to your home at least." She said while making her stew again.

Again, all she got was silence from the drone.

"Uhm… how is Jeremy?" She asked politely.

It just continued to stare at her.

Guessing that the drone either didn't know or didn't care for small talk, she just finished making the food and eventually put it together for Jeremy.

"Uh, do you… talk?" She asked at last as she put the finishing touches.

**[This unit possesses the necessary artificial vocal programing for verbal communications.]** It stated.

"So… why don't you talk?" She asked back.

**[This unit only possesses a Category 5 AI, if you wish for more vocal responses please request a Category 6 AI.]** It stated.

"But… what happened to the drone who sent us off, I thought you were all the same." She asked as she closed the metal box and placed it before the drone.

**[That unit possessed a Category 6 AI. This unit was ordered by the Category 10 AI Aelita to perform this mission.]**

"It's not a mission its…" Gazelle began saying before the drone picked up the box, turned to the door and concealed itself from view.

**[Please open the door.]** It stated.

"Uhm… okay."

She walked to the door, opened it, and heard the drone clank out, allowing her to close the door.

"I'm starting to see why Jeremy didn't sound enthusiastic about working with them." She muttered, not liking how her most recent 'guest' acted.

=Half an hour later with Jeremy=

"MUTT, switch to plasma torch level four." He said as he torched the RAPTOR's head back onto its body.

**[Switching… level four plasma torch ready]**

From behind his back MUTT shifted out the solder that he was using and switch to a plasma torch. Torch activated he began super heat the jagged metal off from the drone's body, at the same time MUTT was soldering some wires together and repairing some motherboard damage that had occurred thanks to being speared by the Scorpio Drone's tail.

After a while he pulled the pieces of metal off and finished the last bits of repair to the drone's body.

"There… good to go!" He said, leaning back and letting Mutt remove its head-vizor from his eyes, which he had been using to micromanage the repairs.

The RAPTOR, Unit TK-427, rolled its body joints around to test its movements, before turning to him and bowing. **[Thank you… this unit is ready for orders!]**

"Go to the Command Center and synchronize with Sentinel, Aelita will give you your orders and update your program." He said for the sixth time that day.

**[As you command.]** It stated before marching out, metal tail swishing from side to side and claws clanking into the distance.

He sighed as he looked next to him and saw the piles of drone parts and damaged drones. He's only fixed two RAPTOR drones and four DOG drones so far, and he still had over a dozen 'more' drones to fix.

"This is going to be a long night…" He muttered as he pulled MUTT's vizor back down over his face and dragging the next broken drone and parts to him.

As he began working on the next RAPTOR drone, he heard the door open and groaned inwardly, suspecting yet 'another' drone coming in and requesting maintenance from him.

**[Unit Jeremy…]** He heard a FOX drone say.

"You need maintenance correct?" He asked instantly.

**[This was delivered to the base one minute and fifty-seven seconds ago.]**

He stopped and pulled the vizor off to look at the drone behind him and saw that the drone was carrying a metal box with padded handholds. Signaling MUTT to put the tools away he took the box and opened it up to see a steaming bowl of soup covered with plastic, a capped cup of warm tea and wrapped utensils in a napkin sitting in the box for him. He instantly recognized it as Gazelle's cooking, having seen the bowl in her home before.

"Did Gazelle send me food?" He asked the FOX.

**[This unit does not know, Aelita was notified of a package arriving and ordered this unit to take the box and bring it to you.]** It stated.

Thinking, he pulled the vizor back down and accessed the base's communications grid.

"Aelita!"

An image of Aelita appeared on the vizor and nodded in response.

"Did Gazelle drop off food for me?" He asked.

She smiled and nodded, before ending the signal with a 'wink'. He chuckled at her little joke, obviously telling him he was lucky. Yet still, as he decided to take the time to eat his dinner courtesy of Gazelle, he felt touched that she thought about him, enough to cook food for him and even drop it off.

"Wonder why she didn't deliver it in person… probably for the best though, the RAPTOR drones scared her too much, I wouldn't blame her if she wanted to stay away from them." He muttered as he smelled her cooking again.

He took the spoon and ate the first bite of his meal, feeling the warmth, the loving warmth go down his throat and make him feel at peace.

'_Thank you, Gazelle…'_ He thought, before continuing eating.

(Aelita's PoV)

She watched him through the corner of a camera, smiling as he ate her 'friend's' meal she made for him.

**[Memory Wipe Complete!]** The FOX drone stated in the command center.

She nodded and now gave it an order to return in twelve hours to pick up the box and once again take it back to Gazelle's residence and return with the food parcel she gave it.

**[Order received…]** It stated before marching off.

She smiled warmly as she returned to organizing the drones and planning the construction of the coffins for the fallen humans.

There were benefits to being a Category 10 AI, just as there were benefits to being a Category 5 AI. The number one, being able to be ordered to wipe one's memory by said Category 10 AI and not having to tell the only living human it was done.

[And so, over the course of the next five days, Jeremy and Aelita repaired the base, the drones, and got everything inside back into working conditions. Aelita used her capabilities as an AI to reprogram the drones to not harm mammals unless Jeremy's life was threatened. Even then, they could not cause potentially lethal harm unless a very distinct set of conditions are met precisely.]

[Gazelle continued to make food for Jeremy in the morning and evening, before she left to model, record an album, conduct an interview, and all other things regarding the most popular pop idol in all of Zootopia. A drone, always the same FOX drone, arrived at precisely the same time in the morning and afternoon to pick up the package. Each time it returned to the base its memory was wiped.]

[The media soon began to divulge information about Jeremy to the public courtesy of Mayor Lioness. When word of the funeral service, being entirely handled by the drones and lone surviving human for the humans who died within the base was spread, mammals gossiped and talked endlessly about it. Many had never seen Jeremy outside of the few clips that circulated the interweb, and of course the video that was played on every tv station and streaming platform or service. They didn't know anything much about him, his species, or what little about the subject that Mayor Lioness divulged.]

[Any attempts to approach the base however were blocked not only by ZPD, but those who managed to slip past were forced away screaming in fear. No mammals actually 'saw' anything, but each attempt to get a glimpse of the base were met with a fearful display of the drones, who without revealing themselves, scared every single mammal away.]

[Yet, in due time, the day of the funeral service arrived. The area of land allotted to Jeremy for use of burying his fallen species had been set, and in secret during the night before the service, drones had left under cover of holographic disguise via multiple FOX drones, excavated holes for every single human, as per ordered by Jeremy. No mammal witnessed the digging, and any mammal nearby saw nothing until the early morning hours, when three thousand, five hundred and seventy-three holes had been dug into the earth, each the same size and evenly spaced.]

[Streets were closed off to allow the service to proceed, and every mammal told to not go into the street until 'after' the service was concluded, out of sheer respect for the species that not only dominated the planet before them, but also was being given the final kindness they could be afforded. Lioness told mammals, they are going to go extinct once Jeremy dies, please give them this last courtesy and respect to them. They deserved nothing less to her, and to honor them the area around the grave site would be declared a national landmark, protected by law under penalty of life in prison for any who dared desecrate the site.]

(Gazelle's PoV)

She walked into the group with all of the other VIP's, public officials, notable names, other stars and idols, actors and politicians, all of whom were going to be a part of the funeral procession. With her were her backup dancers, all wearing fancy suits and talking to pass the time. She herself wore a special black dress with frills on the wrists and skirt, wearing a special rimmed hat and sunglasses, also black for the occasion.

"Well this is going to be exciting… if nothing else." Sable, the Antelope who tried asking her out that one time said. "I've never seen so many mammals turn out for just… well, anything like this!"

"Indeed Sable." She said quietly, glancing at the crowd.

The streets were absolutely packed, mammals of every species lining the sidewalks as they tried to get a glimpse of the procession. Predator and Prey staring around, milling about, talking, gossiping, playing on their phones, doing whatever they could to pass the time.

As she waited for it to begin, she fiddled with the grasp on her umbrella, hoping that it wouldn't be needed, despite the clouds overhead telling her otherwise. It had been predicted that it would rain that day, and she prayed that it wouldn't. Jeremy didn't need any 'more' bad things happening to him, she thought to herself.

"He's already suffered enough… please… don't cause him anymore pain today…" She whispered to herself, looking up at the sky.

"What's up Gazelle?" Sable asked.

"Nothing… nothing Sable." She said back, glancing at the tunnel entrance again.

This wasn't the same entrance in Sahara Square that she'd grown accustomed to, they were near the outer edges of Rainforest District, just on the outskirts of Downtown Zootopia. The Mayor had pulled a ton of strings to make a clear arrangement for Jeremy's species to have the final sendoff they deserved, ordered the media to be respectful, begged mammals to hold their silence and be courteous to them, no matter how 'frightening' they might appear.

Until today, nomammal knew what to expect really, and until it begins nomammal will.

She tried contacting Aelita on her phone again, just to see if she could talk to Jeremy, maybe give him some encouraging words, but she refused to acknowledge her requests. Her responses were strange to say the least, the first time she responded she said…

(War did not determine who was right… only who was left…)

The second time she tried to ask for Jeremy, she responded with…

(He denied it, he was angry with it, he tried to bargain with it, and depressed as he was, he learned to accept it…)

The final time she attempted to ask, simply saying, 'is Jeremy there?', once again Aelita ignored her request, and simply replied…

(I am surprised at his heart, it has been broken, beaten, scared, shattered, and frozen… and yet it still beats…)

After that, she accepted the hint and just had to wait until the service began to see him.

Then she heard some music beginning to play and realized that it had begun.

"Get ready everyone!" Mayor Lioness shouted, and a wave of hushes and quiets shivered through the crowd, as Gazelle stood next to her backup dancers and took a deep breath.

At first all they heard was the somber music, the slow hum of violin sounds coming from the entrance to the subway that had been abandoned because of the base being found. Then they heard the clanking, the dozens and dozens of footsteps marching and hissing as machines began to move in unison.

First came… the RAPTOR drones.

Everymammal, except Gazelle and her backup dancers, having seen them firsthand, stood back in fear as the mechanical raptors marched in unison, holographic flags hovering over them. Each flag represented a different nation at the time of 'The Final War' as Lioness had explained over the news and in various hall meets. The first row of twenty RAPTORs each bore a different flag on it, all staring forward and marching in order, slow and proud, their metallic armor gleaming brilliantly in the cloudy day and their sharpened claws cutting ever so slightly into the street. Each stared forward, almost defiantly, ready to defend the procession against any threat no matter its source!

Behind them were rows of DOG drones, all marching a solid line and carrying a holographic string that was white and covered in doves, the 'Dove of Peace' as she was told by Jeremy, who had given brief descriptions of the symbols she would see in the procession. The DOG's carrying the banner which carried the Dove of Peace, symbolizing that at long last humanity was at peace, that its wars had ended, and finally entered an era of peace. The holographic band indicating it was unified under the symbol.

On the sides marching alongside the DOG drones, spaced intermittently were FOX drones, each using their holographic emitters to cast images of humans at their best, at their proudest, at the height of their power, starting with images of a wall being torn down by humans using sledge hammers. As the procession moved on, more images appeared, showing them making leaps and bounds in the sciences, from the first plane being flown, to the sight of a rocket being launched into space and the dream of going into space. As it continued and neared the rear, the FOX drones showed images of human kindness, of humans offering aid to those in need, of starving people being saved, of homes being rebuilt, of people coming together to do good…

Yet it was in the middle, that caught everyone's attention, as row upon row of solid black silicon caskets, each tightly sealed to ensure nothing happened to the bodies within, marched seemingly on its own tightly together. Yet as she looked closer, she saw that each casket was being carried by about a hundred ANT drones, all of whom holding the caskets for all they were worth. The casket's themselves each had names engraved onto them, giving the name of the human who lay within.

As the procession moved on, halfway through DOG drones were seen carrying cylinders, each of which seemed to be carrying _thousands_ of ANT drones, with another group carrying empty ones, presumably to recharge and replace the ANTs as was needed.

At the head of the column stood Jeremy, wearing only the clothes Gazelle had helped him get, wearing no hat but holding a small golden light within his hands, the light was so bright that it alone outshone everything else in the street.

Beside him was a FOX drone, with a holosphere, Aelita's, attached to it, and casting the holographic image of the human girl in her white dress and walking barefoot next to him, arms held before her and hands clasped as she solemnly moved with the procession

Finally, at the rear, behind another row of twenty RAPTORS, marched a behemoth 'SCORPIO' drone, carrying a strange object in between its mighty pincers that looked like a hollowed-out sphere inside of another hollowed-out sphere that was transparent.

She couldn't get a look at him, couldn't get his eye, but she knew his heart was heavy with sadness. All she could do was follow the procession on the sidelines.

They marched along, the procession stretching over two miles long with coffins and caskets, drones and the sound of clanking metal on concrete street. The sight of two worlds, one of the technological pasts of a highly advanced, dominant species, and the new dominant species of the modern yet primitive looking future. They looked so out of place and yet they were together.

-bdmmm-

She looked up and saw the first drops of rain beginning to fall.

Fearing the worst, she looked to Jeremy, but stared in awe as a blue light shone above him, extending all the way from the giant SCORPIO drone's tail. The light shivered and contained something metallic that kept him dry.

As the rain fell, one of the FOX drones stared up at it, as if confused, before it walked over to Jeremy to get his attention.

**[What is this?]** she heard it ask politely.

He glanced up to see what it was asking about before nodding in understanding. "It's rain… rainwater"

**[Yet my scans indicate no radiation…]**

She saw Jeremy nod before replying, "It isn't supposed to have radiation…"

The drone nodded and returned to its position, the procession not stopping or slowing down.

About halfway through as they began to enter downtown Zootopia, Aelita got his attention and nodded, as if asking something, to which Jeremy silently nodded back giving approval. The AI had the FOX move to the forefront of the column, and began to sing.

**(Oh great Mandos, high among Valar. I come to you in sorrow, and with a broken heart!)** She sang sorrowfully to the crowd, stunning them as she revealed 'she' was the voice that caused so much chaos weeks before. **(Long has been my journey… that led me to these halls. But now I kneel before thee, as grief my spirit calls.)**

She turned to the crowd and had her drone create an image of Jeremy's father, the same one that showed the father and his child, happy and alive, both young and full of life.

**(I seek a man named Beren, whom I bid await me here. I pledged that I would find him, before he leaves this sphere!)**

She moved ahead of the column, singing her mournful song, showing various images of the humans in the base, some funny, some cheerful, and some stupid. She showed a couple of teenaged humans having a food fight and laughing. She showed a woman getting angry and covering herself with a towel as someone peaked on her. She showed a little girl folding a paper hat on her father's head as he lay asleep in a chair.

**(This man of whom I speak, he gave his life for me! But thence my soul grew weak, and at last it too broke free!)**

She showed images of humans entering the Cryopods, being sealed, chief among them featured Jeremy. Surrounding them were dozens and dozens of humans, yet slowly, little by little, these humans began to fade out, lights going out, until only 1 very old man was shown rubbing a Cryopod, watched over by the AI in her holosphere. Until at long last… that last human too faded away, leaving the pods alone.

Gazelle began to cry as she thought of those humans, dying one by one, unable to save themselves, and bidding the survivors in the pods a chance for their future.

**(So borne upon an urgent breeze, I travelled to this place. Where only one thing could appease, the torment I now face!)**

She showed a Cryopod, with a green light and heart rate beeping, before showing it turn red and flatline… indicating the occupant was killed. She showed more images of multiple Cryopods being silenced, their occupants being silenced to save the rest in a dire attempt to save the species.

**(Oh tell me I am not too late, to see my love once more. For that would be too cruel a fate, I beg him be restored!)**

She showed an image of two Cryopods side by side, and showed one of them being terminated, and showed herself on the image cuddling the last Cryopod, crying desperately, as if begging it be spared the fate of the others. Around the crowd cried as well as Aelita sang the story of the humans who died in the base, and the fate of the last of humanity.

**(That we may take a little time, to bid our last farewell. And remember all we shared erstwhile, such joy no one could quell!)**

She showed the years passing, the time passing, the years and months, days and hours, minutes and seconds passing and growing closer to the end, until the final pod would inevitably die.

**(For never was a greater love, than that within our hearts. Once born, forever binding us, E'en though through death we part!)**

She showed an image of a mammal finding the pods at last, and showed, frame by frame, as an Antelope picked up the last pod's External Power Input plug, and plugged it into her phone, becoming that catalyst that saved the last pod. The face of the mammal, who 'saved' Jeremy.

**(Once born, forever binding us, E'en though through death we paaaart~)**

She finished her song, bowed to the crowed, and slowly returned to her place next to Jeremy, once more regaining the solemn look of sadness she had at the start.

Gazelle followed the procession and mourned in her heart, saddened that such a beautiful species, a proud and great people, who once dominated 'her' world… was reduced to such a state. So much about them was lost, so much more than Aelita was showing, only existing within 'her'. Jeremy had been so desperate to save her, because she was the heart and soul of his people, and yet 'she' wanted to save him because he was the heart and soul of 'her'.

"I'm so sorry Jeremy…" She muttered. "No mammal should go through that, especially 'you'!"

As the storm began to grow stronger, the rain battering them and umbrellas began to take a battering, the procession reached Zootopia Central Garden at long last. The drones began to fan out, the RAPTORs forming a wall to tell the mammals they are not to cross it. The DOG drones fanned outward and formed a square, showing the outlines of where the graveyard was and encompassing all of the graves. The FOX drones positioned themselves on the outer edges of the square, showing the images for all of the mammals to see. The ANT drones slowly maneuvered themselves into the holes and placed each casket in its spot.

Finally, she got a chance to stand near Jeremy as he moved to stand with the VIPs.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly while her friends stood between them and the others so they could have 'some' privacy.

"No… but I'll get better… I have to." He whispered back.

She slowly reached down and gripped his hand, and he slowly gripped back.

"I'll help you…" She said.

"Thank you…"

It was a half hour before the final casket was laid into its resting place, and both she and Jeremy were surprised to see that there was one extra grave that was empty.

"Why is there an extra grave, who's casket are we missing?" He demanded.

**[All humans are present and accounted for.]** A DOG said.

"Then… I don't understand… why is there an extra grave?"

**[Your orders… dig up a grave for 'every' human.]** It replied.

"Wait… you mean that grave is…" She said, stunned at what the drone was implying.

The drones had dug 'Jeremy's' grave, he was still alive and already they made his grave to sit with the others.

"Don't blame them… they just followed orders… to the letter." He whispered silently.

She was about to say more before he moved forward and signaled the SCORPIO drone to drop its load. The drone placed the statue it was carrying in the forefront of the graves, and Jeremy took the golden light that he'd been carrying and placed it inside the statue.

Instantly it lit up and showed itself to be a miniature Solar Core, the hollowed-out spheres were magnifying it so that every mammal could see it. A steam cloud arose as the rain evaporated on the glass silicon statue, the heat from the core, despite being so small, as he later described it at being only half a centimeter in diameter, was still so much that it evaporated the rain on contact. Later on, he explained that he had to develop a means of extracting a tiny fragment of the core, and the only reason he 'could' was because the core he'd extracted was miniscule, and it would only last a hundred years at best.

Its small size meant it couldn't be used as the larger variant, a power source, it was just too small. This tiny core that would be guarded twenty-four seven by armed security mammals, was purely for display.

As one all of the drones gathered behind him, RAPTORs at the rear, FOX's in front of them, DOG's before them, and every single ANT directly behind him in rows upon rows. Aelita stood next to him using her drone, and the DOG drones bordering the grave turned inward to look at the graves themselves.

(Everyone's PoV)

"I'm sorry everyone, I'm sorry I couldn't save you all." He said sadly. "I'm sorry I'm alive… I'm sorry I'm alone!"

He stared at the grave of his father, wondering what he would tell him had he been alive.

"I don't know what I can do in this day and age, in this world. I'm alone, I cannot possibly believe that I and I alone can truly redeem our species… fix all the damage that no longer exists."

He stared forward, face set, and eyes determined, his voice only cracking slightly as he defiantly called out to his fellow humans.

"But I will not give up… I will not roll over and die. I will not let your sacrifices be in vain… I WILL… I WILL REDEEM YOU ALL!" He shouted. "OUR FLAME HASN'T BURNED OUT YET, IT BURNS ON IN ME!"

"SO, WAIT FOR ME… WAIT FOR ME BECAUSE WHEN YOU SEE ME AGAIN, I WILL TELL YOU… THAT YOU HAVE BEEN REDEEMED!" He screamed proudly. "EVEN THOUGH YOU LEAVE ME ALONE NOW, I WILL NOT GIVE UP OR GIVE IN… YOU CAN COUNT ON ME!"

He sniffed once, before at last he broke down in tears for the last time before them. Going to his knees and holding his eyes to fight back the tears, he cried openly, ignoring the rain falling around him and the wind blowing his clothes around.

Next to him Aelita also kneeled down, bent low, and bowed to the graves.

Behind him, in a massive wave, every single drone bowed, the RAPTOR drones getting on one knee and saluting with their tails held high and heads low. The SCORPIO drone aimed its pincers to the sides and bowed, the DOG drones leaning forward and lowering their heads as low as they could, the FOX drones lying on their bellies and covering their optics with one leg, and the ANT drones, every single one, lowering their head to touch the ground.

All Zootopia, every mammal present, bowed their heads silently in mournful prayer, and Gazelle, being the poster idol, was allowed to step past the RAPTOR drones and hold Jeremy closely, sharing in his sorrow and letting him know that despite being the last of his kind, he was not alone in the world.

All around him, he had friends… and as long as he had them, he would never be alone.

=Author's notes=

No more sad chapters, no more teary sadness chapters, from here on out its nice chapters and character building as well as romance building. Hope you liked the funeral service for humanity, hoped you liked how it was handled. And if anyone is questioning how Jeremy got a piece of the solar core, it was carefully extracted 'through' the glass silicon container, and he only got a tiny piece. This will be used later on in the story, much later to 'spark' something…

Just a question, who just wants a chapter dedicated to the shenanigans the drones get up to? Cause ya know, they will prooooobably get bored not doing anything in that base, who wants to see what goes on in the base when Jeremy aint around to tell them what to do?


	13. Chapter 13

_You're a sky, you're a sky full of stars_

_Such a heavenly view_

_You're such a heavenly view…_

Chapter 13) A Change in The Road

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Alright, how's it looking Aelita?" He called.

He looked over and saw Aelita materialize in the large room in her life-sized form, leaning on one leg and arms crossed with an unamused expression on her face.

"What's wrong this time?" He complained.

Aelita turned around and showed her back, showing the creak in her back, just between her shoulders, was fluctuating different colors and flashing multiple colored lights.

"Alright… let's try recalibrating the holo-emitters… again." He said as Mutt returned the vizor to his eyes and he looked at the circuitry of the Holo-Room.

He's spent the last two weeks down in the base, mostly conversing with Aelita and whatever drones required to speak to him. In that time, life had gone on above in Zootopia, albeit with differences compared to before.

The funeral service had reached every corner of Zootopia, every mammal who could had come out to attend it, more for curiosity's sake, but those who didn't had all made their way to the gravesite to pay their final respects to the now, 'extinct' species. Many had tried to talk to him, to learn more about him, but the drones refused to let anyone who wasn't 'authorized' to be in the facility entry. Still, they made their feelings known by leaving small charms, little gifts, upon the graves of those who had been left to die in the base.

The news had spread and shared all information about the base, that which Jeremy allowed, explaining some of the miraculous technology that lay beneath them. The Solar Core above all, catching the eyes of many mammals, who saw it as the crowning achievement of such an advanced species, that there were some who wanted to learn as much about it as they could. The drones, though frightening at first, had also captured their attention, and those who were diehard robotics fans and enthusiasts, were trying to recreate the drones based solely on the visuals they'd gotten of them on the news.

As for the drones themselves, ever since the attempted break in, resulting in the previous Sentinel AI going haywire, they had been on high alert for intruders. FOX drones now watched the entrances to the tunnels above ground, concealed using their holographic emitters, while three RAPTOR drones were constantly on patrol in each of the passages, alert for any possible intruder. He'd had to talk to the Mayor about it, but she had relented when it was obvious that the drones would have performed similar actions with or without Jeremy's permission.

As for those who were visiting the facility…

**[Unit Jeremy, there are five mammals wishing entry into the-]**

"Do they have identification cards that are 'authorized'?" He asked exasperatedly.

**[Affirmative, three are-]**

"Then let them in!" He replied.

**[As you command.]** The drone said, its form leaving the vizor's display.

He shook his head and returned to recalibrating and repairing the old circuitry of the Holo-room. As he promised, he'd welcomed visitors 'to' the facility to look at their database regarding history, science, medicine and even some of their technology. However, any data regarding certain technology had to be 'authorized' to leave the facility by him. They also had to be given special ID's from City Hall, that the drones would scan to ensure no one tried to sneak in or steal from the base.

Though this was an impossibility as the drones were constantly watching every single mammal that entered the base. Every five minutes their location, activity, and anything else of importance were updated to Sentinel. But each time someone left or entered the base, they had to contact him to 'authorize' their exit or entrance to the facility. This got annoying very fast.

"Alright… try now Aelita!" He said after half an hour of tinkering.

He looked over to see Aelita materialize once more, looking as unamused as the previous time, before turning and revealing everything was working properly.

"What is wrong now?" He asked in confusion.

Aelita pointed at herself, then at the room, then twirled, and shook her head. Her message was clear to him, she did not like being made to help 'test' a Holo-Room.

"I know, you don't like this… but what else are we supposed to do?" He asked her.

She extended her hand and used the room's holo-emitters to create dozens of pictures, some of nature, some of cities, some of exploration, some of the mammals, and especially one of Gazelle taking a selfie with her backup dancers. Then she beckoned to the pictures as if to say _'this, duh'_.

"Exploring the world is one thing… but what am I supposed to 'do' Aelita?" He asked her yet again.

She sighed as she made the pictures vanish, before walking over and kneeling next to him. She smiled and created an image of a turtle hiding in its shell, shaking her head and pointing at him. Then she created an image of a bird spreading its wings, before flying up to the ceiling, both watching it vanish in a shower of lights.

She was telling him that he can't hide down here for the rest of his life, he has to leave the 'nest' of his home and learn to live free as a bird.

"You're right… but what do I do?" He asked her.

She smiled and stood up, before taking very stiff steps, placing one foot in front of the other, before skipping onward toward the door to the Holo-Room and pointing at it with a nod. Then she ran back over and created an image of a clock saying that Gazelle was scheduled to pick him up in half an hour.

"Alright, I'll get ready to leave!" He chuckled to her as he had MUTT position the vizor back for him to use. "I'll be back in the Command Center to pick you up in a bit, just want to finish some final checks for the Holo-Room!"

She nodded and vanished in a cascade of lights.

He looked over the circuitry one final time, making sure everything was back in working order, and finally closed the access panel.

"There… Holo-Room 3 is ready for service again!" He declared proudly, taking MUTT off of him and watching the drone reform to its normal shape. "MUTT go recharge, I'll take over from here!"

**[Bark Bark!]** It said, before trotting off and out.

He looked around the room and was about to leave, before he looked back again and walked to the center. "Oh… how much could one little session hurt? Just five or ten minutes… nothing too long, have to make sure it's working perfectly right?" He said. "Sentinel activate Holo-Room 3, number of users one… set for a… seven-minute session! Setting… football concert set in 2008, United States, Las Vegas!"

Instantly a hole opened up and a set of gear shifted up on a stand. The gear included a pair of goggles hooked up to a head-harness, wrist and elbow straps which contained powerful anti-grav generators designed to lift him up during the simulation as was needed.

He placed them on his body, strapping the goggles on and tying the pieces tightly.

**(Please close your eyes… holographic session beginning in 5… 4… 3…)**

He closed his eyes and smiled.

**(2… 1… activating…)**

He felt the hair on his head fly backward as the room activated the holo emitters. Then he heard the crowds screaming his name seconds later.

"**Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy!"**

He opened his eyes and saw he stood in the middle of a huge stadium, at two ends of the oval shaped stadium were two large goal posts, and before him a band was ready to begin playing at his signal. He was wearing a country themed outfit and even had a hat to match, despite not actually 'wearing' these clothes. On his face and skin, he felt the warmth of the blazing sun that touched all corners of the field. He could smell the grass of the field, could feel the gentle breeze blowing around him.

'_Yep… everything's working perfectly…'_ He thought sadly, as he stared at all of the people chanting and cheering, calling for him to begin and eagerly waiting for the concert to begin.

"How's it going everybody, VIVA LOS VEGAAAAAAAAAS!"He called out in a large booming voice, and instantly everyone 'roared' in excitement, glow rods swinging from side to side in response. "Let's get this party staaaaaaaaaarteeeeeeeeeeed!"

"Alright boys on my que, a one and a two and a skiddly diddly doo…" He said, tapping his foot and at his que the band began.

"Tell everybody I'm on my way, new friends and new places to see!" He sang in a somewhat broken voice, but he didn't care, he was having a good time singing. "With blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way. And there's no where else that I'd rather be."

He spun around and held his hands open, taking the mike and dancing off the stage and onto the field where crowds of people were chanting and singing along.

"Tell everybody I'm on my way…" He sang before motioning to the crowd.

"**And I'm loving every step I taaaaaaaake!"** They sang.

"With the sun beating down, yes I'm on my way… and I can't keep this smile off my face!" He sang before going into a very… very pathetic excuse for a dance.

Yet it didn't matter, the crowd moved with the beat, they loved his singing, they loved him being there. They were all having a good time, and they were having it because he was singing for them.

"Cause there's nothing like seeing each other again, no matter what the distance between. And the stories we tell, will make you smile. Oh, it really lifts my heart!" He called out, bobbing his head. "So tell em all I'm on my way…"

"**New friends and new places to see!"** The crowd continued as he walked among the people.

"And to sleep under the stars and could ask for more. With the moon keeping watch over me." He sang as he approached a small group of people who were clapping in time with the song. "Not the snow nor the rain, can change my mind. The sun will come out wait and see. And the feeling of the wind in your face can lift your heart…"

He turned the mic toward a girl and invited her to sing alongside him, a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, standing just a head shorter than him.

"Oh… there's nowhere I'd rather be."

"**Oh… there's nowhere I'd rather be."**

"Cause I'm on my way now." He sang softly. "Well and truly… I'm on my way now."

He looked to the sky and sang even more softly. "I'm on my way now… I'm on my way now… I'm on my way now… … .." He nodded and bobbed his head before he strolled to the stage again, clapping with the crowd as they moved in time with the song.

Then as the song picked up again and he stood on the stage once more, "Tell everybody I'm on my way, and I just can't wait to be there!" He screamed. "With blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way. And nothing but good times to share! So tell everybody I'm on my way…. And I just can't wait to be home. With the sun beating down, yes I'm on may. And nothing but good times to show!"

"I'm on my waaaaaaaaay."

"**Yes, I'm on my waaaaaaay!"**

"Yes, I'm on my way!"

He finished and held his hands up high and the crowd applauded him, loving his performance, some even flung flowers at him and confetti began to rain down from the higher levels of the stadium. Every single person there applauding and loving his performance, loving his singing voice, loving 'him'… for being there… for showing them a good show, for making their day better.

"**Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy!"**

He smiled and smelled the sweet grassy air of the field, the smell of the roses being thrown, the sounds of the crowd and the voices…

Then he felt a tear roll down his eyes.

"END PROGRAM!" He screamed as loud as he could, closing his eyes shut.

Within a millisecond of him screaming that, everything became silent. The smells from before, replaced by the smell of metal and alloy, the sounds of the wind replaced by the hum of energy panels draining power from the Solar Core, the feeling of warmth from the sun replaced by the temperate climate of the base's interior.

"They weren't real… they weren't real…" He muttered as he took everything off as quickly as he could. "Just a simulation… just an illusion… gotta get back to work. I can't live that life… that's not what I have to do."

As he put everything down and back where they belonged, he grabbed a datapad that contained the list of issues with the base that required his attention. Issues that he could 'technically' just assign to the ANT drones, but he kept to himself because they gave him something to do. Sure, the ANT drones would take a while because they take a long time to fix things in the base, and being the only human, it would take him even longer…

But he had to give himself 'something' to do.

"Tomorrow I can work on fixing the ventilation system for the lower subsystems…" He muttered as he examined the list.

(Aelita's PoV)

She thought carefully as she watched Jeremy leave the Holo-Room, having witnessed the entire scene playing out.

She knew this was inevitable, but there was little she could do to avoid the situation.

The issue she faced was how to steer him in the direction she wanted, that he 'needed' to take.

Perhaps the 'Wisdom of Humanity' could help her…

So, she posed the question, how to assist a human suffering from being alone, due to being the last of his kind, while among a dynamically diverse set of sentient species, while 'also' spending many hours a day in the remains of his past, and having zero to no direction to go in life having lost his main purpose with the loss of his species and the world repairing itself?

The answer she got back was rather simple, and it amused her that it took millions upon millions of questions, thoughts, debates and probing to come to the simple conclusion of…

Spend more time with friends outside.

She smiled as she came up with an idea, chuckling to herself that she had to ask such a complicated question to reach a simple conclusion.

She could've figured that out herself without the need for the Wisdom of Humanity.

Now the question she posed to herself as Jeremy made his way to the command center, how to keep him 'out' of the base for more than a day, without making it seem obvious?

(Gazelle's PoV)

"That recording session just had to drag on…" She muttered as they neared the station to pick up Jeremy.

"Studio hired a new recruit, was to be expected." Joe said as Moe drove the car.

She nodded in agreement, she was all for letting a new guy try their paw at recording, but letting the new talent try had cost them several hours of recording. As it stood, they would have to go back tomorrow for a new session for the music video, that it turned out, was lost when Alexander the AI took over every studio broadcasting to various stations. It wasn't the AI's intention, but it's action when waking up had accidentally wiped some of the studio's data, thus meaning they had to redo the entire music video.

"Well it is late, so how about we all go out tonight for dinner!" She said.

"Where to?" Moe asked.

"Hmm, let's wait and see what Jeremy might be interested in before we decide, but if he's into it why not that Karaoke Café we usually go to!"

"You're old work place? Haven't been there in a long while." Franky said happily.

"Yea, they all know me so there won't be a big crowd, and its lively at this time of night, so Jeremy can get used to being around so many mammals." She said.

It didn't take much longer before they reached the station entrance, and sure enough there was Jeremy, holding Aelita in his arms, while he was flanked on both sides by two intimidating looking RAPTOR drones, who were also flanked by two DOG drones. All the drones readied their weapons as the limo drew closer, but apparently a quick yell from the human made all the drones retract their weapons.

"You'd think after the sixth time seeing us, they'd dial the 'protection level' down a notch." Donny said.

"I wish they would lighten up to, but as long as Jeremy lives… well…" She said sadly as they parked, and the drones escorted him to the curve.

"Thank you again Gazelle." He said warmly as she moved over to let him in.

"Your welcome… uh… Jeremy." She said, before pointing at the drones.

The RAPTORs were, as before blocking them from leaving because they had to 'scan' for any threats before he could finish getting into the vehicle.

"Go back into the base and resume standard patrol duty!" He ordered.

As one all four drones turned and nodded, before turning around and marching off in unison back to the station entrance, where they took the elevator down and out of sight.

"I'm sorry guys… there's nothing I or Aelita can do about that." He said apologetically as they took off. "Human Protection Protocol takes precedence over any other orders, even if I order them to leave me alone, they won't unless they know for sure I'm safe."

"It's alright Jeremy." She replied warmly. "So listen, we were thinking of going to a little Karaoke Café for dinner, since it's so late. I wanted to wait and see what you thought before going."

"I mean… I don't mind… what do you think Aelita?" The human asked the little AI in her sphere.

Aelita nodded eagerly at the idea, giving him two thumbs up.

"Well I guess that settles that then, you know where to go Moe!" She called to the driver's seat.

"Alright~!" He called back, and they turned left at a crossroad.

Since it would be a while before they reached the café, she leaned back and decided to chat with Jeremy about the work he's been doing in the base.

"Today I just mostly worked on the Holo-Rooms and finishing repairing them." He explained. "A lot of the facility is still in need of work. Even with all the ANT drones working constantly, there's still a lot to do."

"So, what will you do after the base is finished?"

"I still don't know… Aelita has been helping the mammals learn about our history, science, medicine, and even some of our tech." He explained while Aelita sat cross-legged and swayed in time with the limo. "But, even after the base is done, I still don't know what to do…"

"I'm sure you'll find something Jeremy, is there anything you'd like to do? Like painting, dancing, something else that you weren't trained to do?" She asked curiously.

She knew he was some kind of technician, hence why he stayed in the base repairing things instead of leaving it to the drones. Yet she wasn't aware of anything else, like small talents or skills he had that weren't known.

"No… not really… I mean… like I said arts weren't something we had time for. So, we were forbidden from learning to sing… dance… stuff like that as an unspoken rule."

She glanced down at Aelita who confirmed what he said, nodding sadly.

"So, you can't sing or dance at all?"

"No… not really."

Aelita however shook her head with a grin, before mirroring singing using a microphone.

"So you 'can' sing!" She giggled.

"Aelita, I didn't say you could watch me in the Holo-room!" He replied, sounding thoroughly embarrassed.

Aelita laughed before sending her a text message on her phone.

{He didn't say I 'couldn't' watch him singing either ; ) . }

Gazelle giggled as they slowed down and pulled up toward a small café in Downtown Zootopia before getting out. The café was called 'Shooting Star Café', and it was quite a popular café at this time of night given its history. Seeing it brought her a sense of nostalgia, since it was here that she got her first lucky break that helped her get the singing career she now had. An agent who was looking for new and fresh talent had been listening to her singing during an Open Mic Night, and from there…

"Looks a little busier tonight than we thought." Franky said.

"It always looks busier at night." Donny called out as they headed toward it.

"Uh, do I need a disguise?" Jeremy asked quickly.

"No disguise Jeremy, everymammal knows about you now, and if anyone asks, I'll just say I'm showing you around!" She said cheerfully.

With that they walked through the front door into the cheerful atmosphere of the café.

"Welcome to Shooting Star Café how may I help you!" A sheep waitress asked, walking up to them. "Oh… Em… Gee! GAZELLE! WELCOME BACK GIRL!"

"Starla how is it going here!" She called back just as loudly, being pulled into a huge hug from the sheep that was half her size.

"Oh, we're busy as you know, it's open mic night and it's our 'fabulous fifth-day a fifth-off' te menu special!" The sheep said warmly. "So, I take it your eating here tonight, what can I get you, table for one?"

"Actually, can we have two tables, one for two and one for four…" She said, before showing off her friends, especially Jeremy.

Starla stared at Jeremy as if she'd seen a spirit, just wide eyed and in shock. "Oh… uh… hello there uh… mister… 'Jeremy'?" She asked nervously.

"Yes… and this is my friend Aelita." He said calmly as Aelita bowed warmly to her.

"Yea… uh can you give me 'two seconds'?" Starla whispered before quickly pulling Gazelle away as fast as her little legs could go. "You couldn't have called ahead of time sister, like given me five minute's warning? What were you thinking girl?"

"Is something wrong?" She asked, never once seeing the normally cheery sheep ever act this way.

"Something wrong… only the craziest bestest most important moment of my life!" She hissed. "Do you 'know' what humans are to my species… we have like… sixteen different religions regarding them! They're worshiped among all sheep as guiding and protecting spirits!"

"So… that's a 'good' thing?" She asked back, very surprised at that.

"Yes, it is, seeing a human… oh baaaaaah… if my mother and father could be here… this is the greatest moment of my life! Meeting a human, a real living breathing 'human'!" Starla said looking like she was torn between being embarrassed at how she was acting and giddy like an overeager fox-child.

After a moment to catch her breath and calm down, she headed back to the group with Gazelle and took their seating request. She led her backup dancers to the 'predator' area, while she and Jeremy were led to the 'prey' area. While it looked speciest to separate the café seating, it was actually better that way, since naturally predators ate meat while prey didn't, and it often made prey extremely nervous and uncomfortable around them when eating at mixed dining areas.

"So… uh… what can I uhm… get you tonight?" Starla asked the two of them while another waitress, a Couger took care of her backup dancers.

"Uhm, how about the Wild Grass Salad with Roasted Potato… and Jeremy… is there anything you want?" She asked kindly.

"Uh…" He said in confusion, looking at the menu with Aelita. "Just… give me the same as her I guess?"

"And anything to drink?"

"Two 'warm' glasses of punch." Gazelle said, emphasizing the warm part.

Starla nodded eagerly and sped-walked to give their order to the kitchens.

"So outside of my cooking and whatever you ate in the base, what do humans normally eat?" She asked curiously, never having seen him really eat whatever humans preferred to eat.

"Uhm… about that…" He muttered nervously. "Humans are… omnivores…"

That caught her off guard, she did a double take at Jeremy's face in shock, never 'once' suspecting his species was a mixture of predator 'and' prey. Sabre referred to humans as 'ancient apex predators' but she just thought that was a story about an ancient species, just some myth.

"So… uh… would you prefer to be with my friends over in the…" She muttered so none of the other patrons heard her.

"No, I'm fine… it's okay…" Jeremy said quickly. "It's just… I haven't had any… in a long time."

"How long?" She asked.

"Very long…" He replied, to which Aelita shook her head to her saying 'don't push the topic'.

So, they just sat there listening to the talk and gossip, which had increased since Gazelle had appeared, and word spread around the café. She could see her backup dancers getting quite a bit of attention from both predator 'and' prey, some girls asking questions while smirking and the younger mammals trying to get autographs. Curiously she didn't get any attention, and she figured it was because of Jeremy.

Despite being known now for a few weeks, and especially after the funeral service, most mammals still seemed too nervous, if not downright fearful to approach their table while he was there. That didn't seem to extend to the sheeps however, as a few made their way to their table and actually talked to Jeremy.

"Mister Jeremy… hi… my name is Sheila… and these are my twins, Nalu and Paul." A sheep mother and her young twins said. "They wanted to meet you… and say hello."

"Hello." Jeremy said with a smile. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Uhm… mister… hooman." The young sheep girl asked.

"Can you… do magic?" The other young sheep asked curiously.

"No… no I can't…" Jeremy said before Aelita got their attention.

The AI put her fingers to her mouth, before smiling and extended her hand and focusing her Holosphere's emitters to create the image of beautiful swan before them.

"Wow!" The sheep twins said with awe as the holographic bird caught the attention of every mammal in the café.

Aelita twirled her hands and made the swan look around before making it take flight and explode into a cascade of beautiful lights, with each light swirling into a vortex before assuming the shape of a butterfly. The Butterfly then flew around the sheep's heads before it too exploded again into another display of lights, with each light coalescing into their own individual forms of various birds which flew around in a circle in formation. The flock of holo-birds created several shapes, a circle, a square, the letter 'V', a triangle, the number '5', before zooming back to Aelita to vanish into her sphere, reforming Aelita's human form which waved to everymammal.

Everymammal applauded as Aelita bowed to them, just as Starla came with their food.

"Here you go!" She said, placing Gazelle's salad and her drink before her, before nervously placing Jeremy's food and drink before him. "If there's anything wrong let me know instantly, alright! I'll be right over there if you need assistance…"

"Thank you." He said as the family of sheep left their table.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Dig in!" Gazelle said cheerfully.

He looked down at his salad and decided to take her advice and 'dig in'. He took the fork and gently stabbed at a portion of the salad which included a little of everything he saw, greens, salad dressing, baked bread pieces, the potato, and some sliced fruits. After spearing his food onto the fork, he took it all into his mouth and swallowed.

It was truly delicious with the soft and slightly spicy texture that the spices added to the potato, while the lettuce, fruits and baked bread added to the overall flavor of the dish. The warmth of the potato was not lost onto him as it slipped down his throat.

"So how is the salad Jeremy?" Gazelle asked warmly.

"It's delicious…"

"Glad you think so, of course if… you know… you ever want to go somewhere for… uhm…" She began saying. "I can ask my friends to take you. I know that omnivores need 'some'… uhm…"

"I understand… but thank you for offering." He said warmly, appreciating the thought she was putting in for him.

She wanted him to enjoy meals even if what 'she' normally ate was only half of what he was expected to eat. It was actually weird hearing a mammal hesitant to use the word 'meat', but then he remembered that she was considered a 'Prey' mammal. He was also surprised at how well she was handling the knowledge that he was an omnivore, and he hoped that he didn't cause her any fear with his status in terms of eating meat.

"So, why did you come here in particular?" He asked while they ate.

"This is where I used to work years ago, the staff know me from 'before' I became a singer." She said with a smile. "While growing up I would work here part time as a Waitress to help pay for school, the owner was understanding and gave me a job even when no other mammal would. Even let me bring some of the food home after my shift."

"Why was that?"

"It's… a long story." She said, though she was very solemn about it, before sounding cheerful again as she resumed. "Anyway, I loved working here because I could also have fun singing during Open Mic Night. Sometimes the owner would let me off work about ten minutes early just so I can have a few minutes with the mic to sing before going home. I would sing, have fun, dance a little bit before heading home."

"Everymammal loved hearing me sing, after a few months it became a regular thing for the café to have me sing before closing time. Sometimes we would have big dance nights because of it, everymammal coming just to hear me sing." She said with a smile. "It was such a wonderful thing for the café, and I did my best to give them as fun a night as possible. Sometimes I would stay a little later than normal because I would lose track of time with how much fun we were all having! Then one night… I met my agent George."

"How?"

She smiled warmly as she finished eating her salad and took a drink from her punch.

"One night I managed to get a little extra time working here, and before leaving I decided to sing again. I sang as before, and everymammal enjoyed it as always, but George paid the most attention. He sat nearest the mic, listened to every word, every note, every tone I sang. Then he stopped me as I was walking out the door… and then offered me an audition for a spot at an Amateur Idol's Contest." She chuckled as she recounted the event. "I couldn't believe it, me at an Amateur Idol's Contest? I just sang for fun, and now here I was being offered the chance to become a professional singer? I took the chance… and… well here I am."

"And since then George has been helping you?" He continued.

She nodded with a smile. "And he's helped me get record deals, acting positions, concert spots, you name it he's done it. He even helped me find my backup dancers, Franky, Donny, Moe and Joe. They were quadruplets who were auditioning to become dancers, it was a dream of theirs to become dancers, so I got them an audition with George and, now here we are, friends as well as colleagues. When I became a big name in Zootopia the mobs became hard to deal with, George wanted me to hire some bodyguards, and since being my backup dancers isn't exactly the highest paying job, I also pay them to be my bodyguards when we're not on-stage dancing. I can't imagine where I'd be without their help."

"What about you Jeremy, you ever sing?"

"Only… a few times." He said as he finished his food at last. "Today I sang… a little, just one song to make sure the room I was working on worked. But otherwise no I don't sing at all, not something I trained myself to do or was trained for."

"Well why don't you sing?" She asked warmly.

"Growing up in the base… you don't get the option 'to' become a singer." He explained again. "We needed every human to try and help repair the world and help the sick. During the Final War, most of the trained physicians, technicians, engineers and anyone else good with handling equipment of various types were… lost. The few who remained were in the bases, and they were all trying to help the sick, injured, damaged equipment and researching technology. Someone singing was something we didn't need… fat lotta good it does me now, medical knowledge is useless being the only human, and once I've fixed the base and all the tech, what's left for me to do?"

"I'm sure you'll find something Jeremy." Gazelle said warmly, touching his hand with her own and just laying it there. "I know you'll find something… I truly believe you will."

After a while she took her hand off his and they just drank their drinks in silence, watched over by Aelita who continued to look between them.

"**All right mammals, it's past ten which means you know what time it is!"** A loud voice called out over a soundboard system. **"It's Open Mic Night, so who wants to come up first and razzle dazzle us with their magical singing voice that will make us all cringe inside!"**

All the mammals and even Gazelle chuckled at that comment as they all looked at the back of the room where a large Boar was waving at them all.

"**Hey how about you Gazelle, come on down, just like old times!"**

"Oh no I couldn't… besides… everyone knows what I sound like!" She called out, to which every mammal started laughing.

"**Awww stage fright, I thought you'd be used to it girl!"** He called out. **"Well any other mammal out there?"**

Aelita got his attention moments later by flashing her light at him, and then she pointed eagerly at the stage.

"You? You want to sing Aelita?" He asked.

She nodded eagerly.

"What happened to 'not being interested in being an idol'?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She smiled and shrugged in response, before winking and putting a finger to her mouth.

"Alright, if you really want to." He said before raising his hand. "My friend wants to sing!"

At that all the laughter stopped as every mammal heard him speak. He wished they wouldn't, it felt very awkward having everyone staring at him and a few of them muttering as quietly as they could to each other.

"**Well uh… sure, come on up… open mic night!"** The boar said in slight shock, but still trying to sound as positive as possible.

So, he nodded and got up with Aelita, taking her sphere and making minor adjustments to it via the control panel on it's underbelly to allow her to cast her holographic form in a larger setting. Once at the little stage the Boar owner got off and allowed Jeremy to plant Aelita on the stage.

As she began to settle in, she pointed at the Karaoke system they had, nodded and pointed at herself, before again pointing at it. "Uhm, Aelita is asking if its okay for her to sync her AI with your Karaoke machine? She can't interact with it otherwise because she has no physical body."

"Uh, sure go ahead!" The Boar said, not understanding a word he said.

With the go ahead given, Jeremy went back to his seat and just watched with Gazelle and every other patron as her little holosphere sat alone.

"What's with Aelita, what is she up to?" Gazelle asked curiously.

"No idea… just let her do whatever she has in mind." He said. "Whatever it is, it must be either important or something she has to do… I think."

Then everyone gasped in wonder as Aelita's sphere lit up and the AI appeared in her larger, normal sized form, her simple white dress going all the way to her knees and looking just like a young eleven-year-old girl. That was when the Karaoke turned on and lit up, with the massive screen behind her asking her to choose her song. Yet Aelita seemed to be looking at a small holographic cube with a shake of her head, as if disapproving of what she was seeing.

He guessed it was the list of songs they had available, and she didn't like it at all, based on the extremely small size of the cube, only about half an inch for each side.

"Is something wrong?" The owner asked nervously.

She looked over the patrons and waved at him, before pointing at him, then herself, and started mimicking the action of singing, before again pointing at herself.

"She says she wants to use her own selection of songs." He explained.

"Well uh… sure… no complaints here."

Aelita nodded in gratitude before thousands and thousands of cubes surrounded her, and she began looking at each one, causing the crowd to gasp in surprise. Each cube's sides measuring over three feet in length.

"What are those?" Gazelle asked in awe.

"Data Cubes, Aelita interprets data visually as cubes, each of those cubes represent her entire 'song' database that she uses to communicate her thoughts, emotions, feelings, and everything else in song form. Without those she would have no verbal way to communicate with us outside of maybe sign language."

After a few seconds she smiled and grabbed at one cube, while the rest disappeared, and the remaining cube slowly melted into her hand.

Then the screen at the back changed colors and showed the words 'Aelita Song, Track Number 5,452,902… Playing…

A beat began playing, then other sounds, before Aelita smiled and began to tap her foot in time with the tune. **(Whenever you feel confused, lost in the clouds, mind drifts, try to find the meaning of life!)** she sang, which caused everyone to cheer as they remembered her singing from weeks back. **(And take a moment breath in deep and open your heart, there's always sunshine!)**

Then she turned to the 'prey' patrons on her left and offered the palm of her hand to them.

**(Imagine all the good things in your life, release all the pain!)** As she raised her hand to the ceiling. **(Look up high above stars, darkness there to synchronize sky!)**

Lights began flashing as the song picked up and she started dancing, moving her arms in time and clapping with each beat.

**(And where we are just a step from the light, look through the clouds there is paradise, see the sky, there is only hope cause it's in your future! Curiosity!)** She sang warmly before holding herself and twirling around. **(And feel the sense bloom inside of you, reach to your heart there is paradise. And you will shine wherever you are, it's only brightness. Refine, take a chance and survive… now!)**

She then stopped twirling and stared to her right, toward the predators with a stern look.

**(Find yourself standing alone, reality, no truth, it's all in the virtual mind!) **She said while offering 'them' a hand which slowly raised to the ceiling. **(Caught in the eclipse of time, between day and night, there's only silence!)**

Then she turned around and hugged herself while swaying in time with the song.

**(Imagine we are a connected mind, it's just around the world. Believe change and believe life. The light will guide you to your heart!)** She sang happily, before turning around and starting to dance again, which caused everyone to start tapping and clapping in time with the beat. **(And where we are just a step from the light. Look through the clouds there is paradise, see the sky there is only hope cause it's in your future! Curiosity! And feel the sense bloom inside of you, reach to your heart there is paradise, and you will shine wherever you are, it's only brightness. Refine, take a chance and survive… now!)**

Then she stared forward, looked directly at him and Gazelle, and placed her hands on her heart, and looking both sad 'and' happy at the same time while she sang, **(Imagine all the good things in your life, release all the pain! Look up high above stars darkness there to synchronize skyyyyyy!)** Then the lights began flashing before turning black and turning back on as the song picked up once again, as Aelita danced once again happy and cheerful. **(And where we are just a step from the light. Look through the clouds there is paradise, see the sky there is only hope cause it's in your future! Curiosity! And feel the sense bloom inside of you, reach to your heart there is paradise, and you will shine wherever you are, it's only brightness. Refine, take a chance and survive… now!)**

As the song ended, she smiled and bowed to everyone in the café as they cheered and applauded loudly.

"That was beautiful!" Gazelle called out, as every mammal started chanting 'another one'.

"Do another one!" Franky called out as well.

Aelita however smiled before shaking her head, causing everyone to moan and chant again. Then she smirked and put a finger to her lips, before nodding and holding up one finger. Then she pointed with that finger at him and beckoned him to come to her.

"What… me? You want 'me' to sing with you?" He asked incredulously, to which she nodded. "Noooo Aelita… you know I can't sing…"

She frowned at him before she held up five fingers and began counting down.

"You wouldn't…" He muttered, before she nodded and reached 'one' before he finally agreed.

He slowly walked up amid cheers from every mammal and hearing Gazelle giggling and screaming "Show us what you got Jeremy!"

"Why do you do this to me Aelita…" He muttered to her as she giggled and tossed her holo-cube at the screen behind them.

Then she created a holographic image of words for him to read.

"**Alright… hope your all… uhm, ready to be amazed…"** He said nervously over the mic, as everyone cheered and applauded.

That was when he felt Aelita hold his hand and smile at him reassuringly. Then she mouthed the words 'just have fun', before the song began playing.

Behind them the screen showed the words 'Crowd Lyrics', indicating this would include the audience too, before she started singing.

**(Woahoooh oh ohohoh!)**

"**Woke up on the right side of the bed, what's up with this Prince song inside my head? Hands up if your down to get down tonight…"** He sang, his voice not sounding as good as Aelita's.

**(Woahoh oh!)**

"**Cause it's always a good time!"** He continued. **"Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care, hopped into a cab take me anywhere! I'm in if your down to get down tonight… cause it's always a good time!"**

Aelita leaned into the mic and began swaying in tune with the song. **(Good morning and good night! I woke up at twilight… it's gonna be alright, we don't even have to try it's always a good time!)**

Then she pointed at the crowd as the lyrics appeared behind them for the crowd to sing.

"Woah oh oh oh, woah oh oh oh!" Everyone sang including Jeremy and Aelita. "It's always a good time. Woah oh oh oh, woooah oh oh oh! We don't even have to try it's always a good time!"

**(Woah oh oh!)** Aelita sang as she beckoned to the crowd to join her on the dance floor. **(Feet down dropped my phone in the pool again, checked out of room hit the Atm, let's hang out if your down to get down tonight! Cause it's always a good time…)**

Jeremy leaned forward as mammals started clapping and tapping while dancing to the song.

"**Good morning and good night!"** He sang while waving to the crowd.

**(I woke up at twilight!)** Aelita sang as well.

"**It's gonna be alright! We don't even have to try it's always a good time!"**

"Woah oh oh oh, woah oh oh oh, It's always a good time!" Everyone sang together. "Woah oh oh oh, wooah oh oh. We don't even have to try it's always a good time! Woah oh oh oh, woah oh oh oh, It's always a good time! We don't even have to try it's always a good time!"

He sang loudly and cheerfully as he got into the song at last, forgetting that every mammal was watching. They were loving his and Aelita's performance, they were enjoying it and having fun even as they danced. He even felt his heart skip a beat as he saw Gazelle dancing in time and nodding at him, smiling and enjoying his performance like every other mammal around them.

"**Doesn't matter when! It's always a good time then!"**

**(Doesn't matter when! It's always a good time then!)**

"**Doesn't matter when! It's always a good time then!"**

Then the beat picked up and everyone shouted, "It's always a good time!"

"Woah oh oh oh, woah oh oh it's always a good time! Woah oh oh oh, woah oh oh, we don't even have to try it's always a good time! Woah oh oh oh, woah oh oh it's always a good time! Woah oh oh oh, woah oh oh, we don't even have to try it's always a good time!"

Everyone started screaming and applauding as the song ended, and Jeremy wished he were suddenly invisible being applauded by 'real' individuals. "Can I please get down Aelita?" He begged.

The AI just giggled and nodded, he was free.

"That was so embarrassing!" He said as he got down but was intercepted by Gazelle.

"You were wonderful!" She said with a laugh.

"I sounded horrible…" He said to her.

"Oh, that's not what's important!" She dismissed instantly. "You sang and you were having fun, that's all that matters! And if everymammal has fun listening to you and enjoys themselves because of you, then nothing else matters!" Then she bent closer to him and whispered with a smile, "And I loved how happy you looked on stage, it really looked like you were having a good time up there. And it really made me smile seeing 'you' smile after everything that has happened.

That was when several spotlights turned on and Aelita began singing again, causing all the mammals to start dancing in time with the music.

**(Broken wings, we are trying to break free, broken pieces scattered everywhere!)** She sang while moving around on the stage near her little holosphere. **(Look deep inside, we're all the same… we're in a circle. Eternity!)**

Then she looked at Jeremy and Gazelle and beckoned them all to start dancing with her and everyone else, smiling and winking at the two of them.

**(Hear me sing shiny dream, stand up, I revive! Do you feel what I feel, you and I connect, energy flowing light, surround me revive…)** She sang warmly as she twirled, before holding her hands out to everyone, as if wanting to hold them all together. **(Every move, every thought, we will synchronize! Follow my heart beat, hang on to my dream!)**

"Do you wanna dance with me Jeremy?" Gazelle asked warmly as all the mammals started dancing.

He looked into her eyes and, for a moment, decided to ignore his trepidation about dancing and singing in public. Just seeing her warm, welcoming eyes, set his heart at ease, and he didn't want to see a look of disappointment because he rejected her request.

"Sure…" He said back, causing her to smile as she offered her hand.

He took it and together, they started dancing in time with every other mammal, mirroring Aelita's actions as she sang on stage. Every patron was dancing on the dance floor before the karaoke stage, food long forgotten as they danced the night away with Aelita leading them all.

(Aelita's PoV)

**(Silent wind, blowing through the smoky air, overlapping shadows everywhere!)** Aelita sang, seeing Jeremy dancing with Gazelle.

Mission accomplished, now all that was left, was to finish the night… and she had a 'vast' collection of songs she could sing, more than enough to last thousands of nights if needed…

**(It's time to change, nothing is real… no one can stop us, 'Serenity'! I don't want anymore, simplify, revive! Can you see what I see, something far away… memories glowing bright, sacrifice revive! Future time, future light, real life everything… follow my heart beat, hang on to our dreams!)**

She danced and danced, sang and sang, letting her thoughts flow with this song, not caring if any mammal, or human, truly understood what she was saying. She sang and that was all that mattered, their souls… heard it… and loved it. She was so happy, happy seeing that she was causing such a reaction, this was 'truly' the greatest feeling to be felt.

Even as she watched Jeremy and Gazelle dancing together, having fun… she smiled and thanked her friend for giving her human the strength to push past the darkest phase of his life… now… now all that's left…

**(There's always pieces, broken inside us… take in the moment, take time to revive! Shiny delight… hear me sing, shiny dream… stand up I revive, do you feel what I feel. You and I connect, energy flowing light, surround me, revive! Every move, every thought, we will synchronize… follow my heart beat, hang on to my dream!)**

She sang as she held her arms out, wanting to pull them all together… pull them into her world of joy and wonder, wishing she could show but the tiniest fraction of a fraction, of the wonder she wished to make of this world with them! Creating a beautiful, wonderful world, full of love and joy, a world that all could live in with pride and joy! She would guide them, no matter how long it took… she would guide them… as was her charge…

**(Hang on to my dream… hang on to my dream…)**

Drone Chapter – The Sacred Duct Tape Search Pt 1

*Jeremy's Personal Log 245*

*The Drones AI's are acting up again, despite constant memory wipes it seems that drones of Category Five and up, until we reach Category eight, continue to have strange quirks in them that I cannot for the love of me, figure out and stop from happening. Most of the time a simple memory wipe removes any issues, but the issue persists in that it doesn't 'stop' it from happening.*

*This time a group of drones, all Category Six, without meaningful orders and nothing changing within their daily routine, seem to have develop a strange 'urge' in their logic pathways and decision-making algorithms. When asked what they are doing in what was going to be a 'Hydroponics Bay', they told me they were searching for the last roll of the 'Sacred Duct Tape'.*

*Whatever that is…*

(Fox Drone P8-44)

**[Unit P8-44 reporting in, no sign of subject Duct Tape.]**

It walked through empty hydroponics bay, using its photoreceptors to search for the duct tape.

It had become something of a necessity for the drones, after Fox Unit L0-12 was inquired about the subject by one of the sentient animals identified as 'Mammal'. According to the database that Fox Unit L0-12 read, the item known as Duct Tape was an item created by the maker species, identified as homo sapien, also referred to as Human.

The item referred to as Duct Tape, was, according to Unit L0-12, something that must be recovered and given to Unit Jeremy as soon as possible.

According to Unit L0-12, Duct Tape had well over a hundred thousand uses, ranging from practical to non-practical. Despite many of the creations of the maker species, Duct Tape seemed to have had such a wide diverse set of uses that it was deemed of the highest priority to recover the item and offer it to be replicated and reproduce.

Yet when they looked up the manifest of all the base's items, Duct Tape was not among the most stocked, with the only remaining roll having gone missing at some point three hundred and fifty thousand years ago.

Thus, sixty-seven of the Category Six drones, were now scouring the base, searching for the item.

If they could find it, then one of humanity's, if not it's greatest creation… aside from the drones… and the Solar Core… and AI's in general… and duratanium alloys… as well as…

**[Unit P8-44, report?]**

**[Unit P8-44 reporting in, no sign of Subject Duct Tape, continuing search…]**

**[Unit J9-71 acknowledges, no sign of Subject Duct Tape in Sanitation Control Center 15! Continuing search…]**

It nodded and resumed searching, once again examining every square inch of the room, looking for the last roll of the great Duct Tape.


	14. Chapter 14

_The Earth is our mother she gives and she takes,_

_She puts us to sleep in her light we'll awake,_

_We'll all be forgotten there's no endless fame,_

_But everything we do, it's never in vain…_

Chapter 14) Projections

(Gazelle's PoV)

"Alright here we are!" Moe called as her limo came to a stop near the Base Entrance.

She looked up from her phone as she was texting her friend about the dress she was having him custom make for her. Her friend had decided that, since she was making a custom design, he would add a spin on it himself and 'razzle dazzle' her with his skills. She didn't mind but she only asked that he finished it before the premier party, she also asked him to prepare a suit for Jeremy as she doubted that the clothes he currently had would suffice for such a party.

"Thanks Moe!" She said, getting out and grabbing her purse to go pick up Jeremy.

"You sure you want to walk down there alone and not just tell him we're here?" He asked politely.

"Oh, don't worry Moe, it will only be a short while." She called as she made her way down the entrance.

Truth be told she was a 'little' nervous going down the shaft and to the human base by herself, but after her last experience she wanted to surprise Jeremy and pick him up herself, and also figure out what it was the human was doing in the base by himself.

Aelita had told her in a text that he was doing a 'special project', inspired to do so when a few of the scientists that were reading history logs and looking up fascinating technology asked how the drones were made. What this 'special project' was, she didn't know, but apparently it had gotten all of the drones excited, including Aelita, or at least as excited as machines with the social skills and emotional expression of rocks could get. Only Aelita seemed truly excited as she had been spamming smiley faces to her phone.

She walked down the dirt path lit by multiple lights, and toward a trio of RAPTOR drones scanning the tunnel.

Upon seeing her they readied weapons, before putting them away upon recognizing her.

**[Unit Gazelle… access is granted… welcome to Eden Facility Seventeen!]** One said, before stepping aside and letting her pass through the door as it opened with a hiss.

She walked inside and looked around to find where she had to go to find Jeremy, having never done this before without Jeremy to guide her. However, an answer came in the form of MUTT, who trotted up to her and barked to get her attention in the metal hallway.

**[Bark bark, this way… bark bark!]** It said, before trotting off.

"Okay." She giggled.

Onward the little drone marched, it's metal feet clanking with each step. She walked past the command center where several mammals in white lab coats and writing furiously as they read holographic books and papers, examined diagrams and looked at texts covering topics she had no idea about. Yet the one thing she noted was the lack of 'security' in the room, as she left it behind, she only saw a single FOX drone watching them all, sitting on a lone chair off to the side. Even as she looked around while passing through the empty, yet still lit corridors, there was not a single drone to be found.

Though she did giggle as she spotted a troop of ANT drones marching off in single file formation, carrying some wires as they did, no doubt off to perform some fix or something.

After a while they made their way to the elevators and went down, and again, saw not a single drone as she did. They exited out into a hallway, and MUTT lead the way to a large room with the label 'Drone Parts Storage Room Zeta Four'.

MUTT opened the door and she gaped as she saw where all of the drones had gone now, seeing hundred and hundreds of drones cramped and stuffed into the huge room. She saw DOG drones and FOX drones all sitting and clambering over RAPTOR drones, watching as in the center, a lone Human was welding pieces of metal together, with wires and circuits, gismos and gadgets and a slew of other assortment of parts that she had no clue were called scattered around him.

Next to him was Aelita in her glowing Holosphere, sitting atop a FOX drone as she used it as a means of transportation.

The AI in question looked over and waved eagerly at her, before her phone rang, and she saw the AI had messaged her.

{Come closer, Jeremy is working on something amazing!}

Taking the hint, she waded through the crowd of machines, all of their glowing blue eyes fixated on Jeremy, who was so wrapped up in his work that he failed to notice she had entered.

Eventually she knelt down next to Aelita and looked as Jeremy grabbed a circular piece and began welding it to one of the metal pieces he had.

"What's he doing?" She asked.

**[The Creator Species is 'Creating Artificial Life'.]** A FOX drone muttered quietly.

She was impressed that the tone the drone used to describe what Jeremy was doing, almost as if it couldn't believe that Jeremy was doing something.

"Uh, 'artificial life'?" She asked quietly.

Her phone beeped and she saw Aelita had answered the question.

{He's creating a new line of Drones, when completed it will use a Category Two AI.}

"That's wonderful, but what is it going to be?" She asked.

**[These units don't know…]** A DOG drone replied.

Not wanting to interrupt, she just sat and looked at the scene, and was simply amazed at how the drones reacted to Jeremy as he silently worked. They watched his every movement, his every action, with silent rapture. Each time he picked up so much as a wire, slowly welded two pieces of metal together, or even screwed in something as trivial as a bolt, the drones watched as if it were the most important and wonderful thing in the world. It was amusing to her, but as Aelita explained in a text, his actions had significant importance to them all.

{The last line of drones to be constructed by humans was an upgraded version of a 'SPIDER' class medical drone, referred to as the Nursery Class 'Black Widow Spider Drone', or B.W.S. Drone. Since then humans have ceased construction of any new drones or improved upon any old drones, aside from the slight modified versions Jeremy worked on. And Drones with AI's of category 5 and 6, view humans as the 'Creator Species', and hold them in extremely high regard, as their programming dictates to.}

{The reason why the drones are all watching, is for them, this is an important moment. It has been over three hundred and fifty thousand years since a drone line was last constructed. Even if it uses an 'Inferior Category AI' compared to them.}

"Is that why you were so happy when you texted me?" She whispered.

The AI nodded with a smile, before replying, {Jeremy just decided he wanted to create something of his own, and I encouraged him to make a new drone line! Though I don't know what he's planning to make, I want to be surprised!}

A few more minutes passed before eventually Jeremy looked up and finally noticed her sitting with Aelita. "Gazelle, when did you get here?" He asked in surprise.

"A while ago, about ten minutes I think?" She said, looking at Aelita who held up nine fingers. "Okay nine minutes ago. So, what is it your making?"

Jeremy took a second to take off the visor and held up the piece he was working on. "It's the main body of the drone I'm making, as to what it is, I don't know yet." He said with a chuckle. "I'm just going with an idea in my head and as soon as its finished, I'll show it to everyone outside and see what they think of it."

"Well you certainly seemed to be happy working on it from what I saw." She said with a smile as he put the tools to the side.

"Well it does feel good to be doing 'something' aside from working on the base, I just needed to do something…" He said quietly.

"You'll find something to do Jeremy, I know it, and until then your free to live with me and stay as long as you like." She said warmly. "And speaking of that, Moe is waiting for us outside to take us home."

"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting Gazelle." He said, quickly removing his tools and picking up Aelita's holosphere. "Uh, all drones return to your normal duties."

As one all the drones declared, **[Order Received!]** and began to march out of the room using the nearest doors they could, while also clearing a path for her and Jeremy.

They left the room amid the many drones all walking this way and that way, some crowding the down elevator and others heading for the stairs, leaving the up elevator clear for them.

"So, what 'are' the drones doing down here?"

"Most of them are going to return to the charging bays to repower and sit in stand-bye mode until they are called for duties by Sentinel. Others are off to Drone Storage Units to sit and power down until, like the others, assigned a duty by Sentinel. The rest are going to be doing whatever strange task has gotten into them." He explained as they went up.

"Strange task?" She asked as they left.

"It's a strange issue with the drones' programming, mostly in their logic pathways that deal with what 'they' perceive to be logical or of importance. Without routine memory wipes, meaningful orders, or a change in their routines, strange quirks begin to appear. For example, a group of Category Six drones have begun scouring the entire base looking for what they call the last roll of the 'Sacred Duct Tape'."

"Sacred Duct Tape?" She asked with a giggle as they headed to the command center.

"It's just an old utility tool from my time, it was an ingenious creation of humans, its essentially just a roll of tape but because of its makeup and how strong it was, it had a ton of uses. I believe in the year 2000 or so, someone actually made a boat out of nothing but duct tape." He said. "I myself haven't seen the roll of duct tape, but they told me that only one roll remained and are now dedicating their time scouring every inch of the base to find it."

"How much of the base have they searched?" She asked.

"About ten percent, not bad considering they've been at it for days now and there's only about twenty of them searching." He explained. "I've decided to just let them have at it, until their logic pathways begin to get out of hand, they're so far harmless."

"They can get worse?" She asked curiously as they left and were promptly followed by the three RAPTOR drones.

While the drones still scared her, she realized they were just following them to ensure Jeremy was kept safe, and of course with Jeremy there they would not harm her.

"Only the category six drones are my concern, category five drones will just get stuck in their logic pathways, but a simple memory wipe fixes that problem. However, the category six drones like this one…" He said, pointing at the lead RAPTOR behind them. "Run the risk of having their AIs self-upgrade from category six to category seven. Their programming isn't capable of handling the transition easily, and it's a fifty-fifty shot if they remain stable when it happens, if they don't remain stable, they end up crashing and shutting down."

"Can you fix them if that happens?"

Aelita glowed to get their attention and shook her head, before changing her hologram to show a happy RAPTOR drone face, slowly changing to a sick one, before showing it as 'dead' by giving it X's for each eye.

"As Aelita says, once that happens the only way to help them is to wipe their memory and reset their AI to the base AI settings stored in their Backup Memory Cores that they were programmed with upon activation."

(Jeremy's PoV)

As the elevator lifted them up to street level and they got out, he thought about the new drone he was planning to build. It had been an inspiration from Aelita to build it, and he decided that if he was going to build any drone, it would be one that could 'help' not only him but mammals. Since he was the one building it, he could show schematics of how its built afterwards to the mammals, so they could learn how it was constructed.

As for the 'animal' it would be based on, he had chosen an old earth animal that had gone extinct during the Final War. The animal being one that had served alongside humans since practically the beginning of documented human history.

Though the one downside with creating a drone from scratch on his own, was that he had no guidelines on how to build it, so he was basically building it blindfolded.

"So, Jeremy, what do you feel like having for dinner today?" Gazelle asked warmly as they left the building.

"I honestly don't mind what we eat Gaz-" He began saying, before he was suddenly shoved down to the ground.

"Outa the way!" A snide voice cackled.

"Jeremy are you okay?" Gazelle managed to say before the three RAPTORs stormed out, weapons primed and teeth bared, their optics red and laser sights swerving every direction possible.

**[Hyeeeeeear!]** They each hissed, causing Gazelle to back away in fear as they circled him, looking for a threat.

"Will you calm down I'm fine!" He yelled angrily as he slowly rose to his feet, using both hands to push himself up.

**[Threats detected… zero… standing down…]** The lead Raptor stated as they retracted their weapons.

"I'm sorry Gazelle, they can't help it, it's the 'Human Protection Protocol', I have no control over how they act when…" He said before he realized that something was missing.

He Looked around for Aelita's holosphere and saw that she wasn't there anymore. Frantically he turned around and tried to find her, thinking maybe she'd rolled away, but no she was nowhere.

"Aelita!" He screamed as the drones took up formation.

That was when he saw a small mammal, a weasel by the looks of it, running off with a small duffel bag under its arm as fast as it could away from them.

*Brnnnnng*

Gazelle's phone went off and she answered the call, suddenly the words _**(Sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS!)**_ sang out of her phone before it cut off.

"That mammal stole Aelita!" He yelled, before he ran to give chase. "COME BACK HERE YOU THIEF!"

Right behind him the three RAPTOR drones followed in formation, matching his speed.

"I'll call the police!" Gazelle yelled as they ran away.

Meanwhile he ran to try and catch up to the weasel, however the weasel was far faster than he was, and soon he was losing sight of him. That's when he got the idea to use the RAPTOR drones that were following behind, who naturally out-sped him because of their high mobile design.

"RAPTOR, give me a lift!" He ordered.

**[As you command.]** It stated, before stopping and letting him climb onto it's back,

"Now after that mammal!" He ordered, pointing at said weasel who was nearly out of sight.

**[Target assigned, assuming pursuit formation!]** It stated, before it started screeching, **"Gaaaawk, gaaaaaaawk!"**

"**Kryeeeaaaaaah!"** The other two screeched in unison, before all three took off at maximum speed, catching a lot of nearby mammal's attentions as they stormed forward.

(Judy's PoV)

She slowly turned the corner in her squad car with Nick in the passenger seat as they neared Savanna Central Park.

"So how ya feeling dear?" She asked Nick.

"Oh, ya know carrots, same as always… same as always." He said quietly. "Just chugging along as usual."

"Nick, we both know that's not what I mean." She said politely. "I know your still not completely over what happened back in that base, but what happened happened and you have to put it behind you."

"I know carrots, but its not easy." He replied, looking out the window as they drove on.

"I can figure… I would be terrified… but you're a predator… I can't imagine how terrified you must have been." She said, remembering how he described the drones.

He had described them as emotionless predators, mammals without fear and without remorse, endlessly hunting their target not for the sake of satisfying their hunger or for territorial reasons, just for the sake of killing him. He had told her how 'helpless' he felt, as the human Jeremy did all the real work, getting them to safety, and even at the end it was not him who helped them out but a drone. Her husband-to-be had gone underground to try and help out a human, and all he did was end up being a burden, not even a minor distraction.

"You don't wanna know carrots, just be lucky you weren't there."

Just as they entered the square and she turned right the radio called out, [All units we have a robbery in progress near Savanna Central Park, repeat a robbery in progress near Savanna Central Park.]

She slowed to a crawl just as she saw a weasel running by them, duck underneath their car and toss a bag over the top and catch it on the other side screaming "Coming throooooough!"

"Weaselton?" Nick yelled as he got out of the car. "What's he doing running?"

"This is Officer Hopps responding to the robbery alert, we have a 10-31 repeat 10-31 in progress, Officer Wilde and I are in pursuit!"

[10-4 Hopps…] Clawhauser replied.

She got out of the car and was just about to join Nick when the crowd began gasping and screaming at something, and she had just enough time to turn around before she saw 'three' metallic RAPTORs storming toward her. Their metallic plate armor gleamed in the setting sun and glittering teeth bared, with eyes glowing red and red laser beams tracking Weaselton. Her instincts, some primal instinct in her screamed at her to run, but she was so scared at the sight of these things rushing her down that all she did was stare.

Then the drones, as scary and intimidating as they were, as fast as they appeared, simply ran around her, completely ignoring her as if she were object.

"Come back here you thief!" She heard someone yelling as the drones ran past, and she saw Jeremy riding on the back of the lead RAPTOR, while the other two followed in close formation behind them.

She watched the drones running away, clearing a swath as mammals ran to get out of their way while others watched in rapture as the machines from the human base ran in broad daylight.

"What did that mammal steal to warrant those 'things' to chase him?" Nick called out as he ran after them.

"Whatever it was, it better be worth his life!" Judy called out as she ran after.

They ran through the crowd as Weaselton ran this way and that, trying desperately to get away from the drones as they began to close the distance, unable to evade their pursuit. Then he turned toward Little Rodentia.

"Oh no, not again…" Hopps said as the weasel tossed the bag over, flung down to the ground and wiggled through the entrance as he did the last time while trying to evade her.

Only this time he was doing it while trying to evade three, highly advanced machines based on what could only be described as ancient predators, that according to Nick could not only track him forever but were among the most efficient killers that humanity had to offer from its past.

And he was leading them into the largest concentration of rodent species mammals in Zootopia!

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Sorry, excuse me… pardon me!" He yelled as mammals jumped and screamed out of the path of him and his drones. "Sorry about this!"

They had caught up to their thief and it was becoming evident that the thief knew it, as he was panicking and trying everything to lose them, trying to get the crowd to break line of sight yet it was impossible, as the drones very presence was causing every mammal to get out of their way, clearing a path and giving perfect view of him. Now as he ran through the square, he saw the weasel heading straight for a gated area that, as he rode atop his drone, looked to be a miniature residential area for very, very small mammals.

"Oh no… drone, activate bio scans, how many life signs are in that residential area in front of us?" He called out.

The drone replied instantly, using its optics to quickly scan before them. **[Bio Scans indicate approximately eighty thousand six hundred based on quick scans.]**

"Dammit, switch to stealth mode and maintain pursuit, I don't want any damage to that area, and I order you all to avoid ANY potential loss of life at all costs!"

**[Warning, pursuit mode is in effect, stealth mode is not viable nor is it recommended for current operation.]** It stated.

"JUST DO IT!" He yelled.

**[Order received!]** They all replied, jumping in unison and retracting their extremely sharp talons into their feet, and replacing them with highly specialized rubber toes.

The rubber toes were used only for stealth operations where silence was needed to help them slip behind their targets. However, he was having them swap to ensure that the pavement, which had been taking minor damage from their feet, would not happen any further. After a bit they landed and proceeded to continue to chase, no longer damaging the pavement as they ran.

Moments later the weasel threw the bag he was carrying and leapt through a tiny hole, scattering a few small mammals who were lingering outside.

"How wide are those streets?" He asked quickly.

**[Quick analysis indicate pathways are between one and two meters.]**

"Dammit there's no space for all of you. Assume hunting formation, separate, and bring him back here!"

**[Roger!]**

**[Roger!]**

The two drones behind veered away, one going left and the other right in perfect unison, while his drone reached the gated area, crouched and leapt high over, landing safely on the other side and beginning pursuit.

Before him he saw tiny cars that almost reminded him of toy vehicles from humanity's past, in what could only be seen as a miniature city that looked eerily similar to a human settlement that might have been seen in the 1900's. Yet he also saw hundreds and hundreds of rodent mammals of all kind going about their day, walking this way and that, getting in or out of cars and driving around.

At least they were before he and his drone, alongside the thieving weasel as they ran through the small street. At the sight of them panic erupted as every mammal ran for cover.

"STOOOOOOOP!" He screamed at the weasel.

Instead the weasel jumped onto a pair of parked cars and began using them as skates, ignoring the screaming rodents trying to get out of the way.

He turned down a street into a smaller residential area and leapt over homes and other rodents, going down this way and that, anything to avoid the drone pursuing him. Yet Jeremy riding atop his RAPTOR easily kept pursuit, the drone never once losing sight or track of their thief, despite his best efforts. He ducked, he weaved, he even tried running through a 'train' area that ran along some colored pipes.

Each attempt failed because the drone used the clearest path it could take while avoiding any damage to the area and alerting all mammals to its presence by emitting a growling call that constantly called out its location. As they ran rodents jumped and fled out of the path of both weasel and RAPTOR, some out of fear and others because they didn't want to get hurt, yet they also watched in wonder and awe as the drone ran past, moving with fluid grace despite its mechanical engineering.

Then his drone finally caught up to the weasel and caused them to panic and leapt onto a building and into another area of the town, a shopping district based on what he saw, and landed near a building with a large donut with the words 'The Big Donut' on it.

Rodents began screaming and clearing the area as they saw him land, and even more so as his drone turned a corner and raced toward him.

"STOP, JUST STOP RUNNING!" He screamed.

The weasel however looked at the donut and grinned, screaming "Have a donut 'Human'!" before kicking it at him.

"Incoming!" He told the drone, which stopped instantly and leaned to the side to avoid the projectile.

He turned around to see where the donut would go and was shocked to see that a clothing store was directly in its path.

(Fru Fru's PoV)

"Now Judy, when we get home, remember to give grandad a big hug and a happy birthday okay sweetie." She said warmly to her daughter.

"Okay mama…" Her sweet little ray of sunshine said as they walked out of the store.

"Now let's get over to Mousy's, they're having a wonderful sale on those cotton wool pants you like!"

-Boing, Boing, Boing-

She looked up and saw a huge donut flying toward her and her daughter, causing her to scream and grab her daughter in fear, pushing her behind her to shield her. Just as the donut bounced again and aimed straight for her, she closed her eyes and waited for it to hit, only to hear something slide and feel a shadow fall over her.

After a few seconds she opened her eyes and looked up to see…

"The human?" She asked in amazement, recognizing the human from the news and the big funeral she attended with her friends and daughter.

Said human was currently clutching the donut with his hands and breathing heavily, while behind him a giant 'scary metal mammal' stood watching him.

"Hi… I am so sorry about all of this…" He muttered apologetically. "Oh, you have such a lovely child, what's their name?"

"Wh… why thank you…" She said sweetly. "This is my daughter, her name's Judy!"

"Hi mister human!" Judy said warmly.

"Nice to meet you Judy, names Jeremy." He replied. "If you'll excuse me…"

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Drone, go after him, you know where to bring him!" He ordered as he turned around and hoisted the donut into a better position to hold.

The drone nodded and jumped to perform a full one-eighty, before resuming pursuit to chase after the weasel, who had taken the chance to run away.

He sighed as he walked to where the donut was supposed to go, and as he did rodents began to slowly emerge from hiding to look at him.

"Hi everyone… I'm really sorry about all of this!" He called as he walked by. "Really sorry, I apologize for everything, I'm soooo sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen."

As he made his way to the donut shop he heard two mammals running up behind him and turned to see Judy and Nick, the rabbit and fox officers whom he met before who helped him at the base.

"Jeremy, what in the blazes is going on?" Judy yelled as she caught up.

"Why is Weaselton running from you and what did he do, and where are those drones?" Nick asked.

"I'll explain in a bit… just let me… fix this!" He replied as he got to the shop and looked down at the shop owner who was watching him carry the donut. "I am really sorry that happened, will you permit me to fix it for you?"

"Uh sure… I don't mind, saves me money having to pay to get it replaced again." The shrew squeaked.

Jeremy nodded and slowly lowered the donut onto the shop's roof and looked to the shop keeper for direction.

"Uh… little more to the right…"

He nodded and shifted it.

"Little more please…"

He nodded again and shifted it again.

"A… bit more to the… rear…"

He nodded and slowly edged it.

"Right there!"

Jeremy nodded and planted the donut where the shop keeper told him. "Again, I apologize for 'any' inconvenience or trouble I or my drones caused. That mammal kidnapped a friend of mine and I panicked and ran after him with the drones that were with me."

"Oh, don't worry, if something like that happened to me, I would have reacted just the same… besides my shop's sign is fixed and nomammal got hurt so all's forgiven!" The shopkeeper said happily, and around them all the other rodent mammals squeaked and agreed. "Would you like a free donut? It's the least I can do for you fixing my shop and saving me money on getting it repaired and replaced!"

"Well I can't say no to that can I?" He chuckled. "Uhm… do you have… 'chocolate' by the way?"

"One jumbo Chocolate coming right up!" He called out before running inside. "Hooooney, we need a jumbo on the rocks stat!"

All the rodent mammals chuckled and began to slowly disperse while a few continued to look at him with wonder and even a few others began taking snapshots.

"Alright now that that's out of the way, explanation please?" Judy asked. "And where did that weasel head off to, did you see him?"

"No, he got away, but fortunately the drones have his location and are in pursuit." He explained.

"The drones are following him, isn't that dangerous?" Nick asked. "What if they kill him?"

"They won't, they've been reprogrammed not to kill any creature unless the three conditions required to authorize the use of lethal force are met." He explained as the shop keeper walked out with his donut. "Oh, thank you."

"Your welcome!" The shop keeper said as he went back inside.

He looked at the 'tiny' donut to him and put the whole thing in his mouth and ate it. "Mmm, delicious…"

"Jeremy, what do you mean by 'unless the three conditions required to authorize use of lethal force are met'?" Judy asked quickly. "And how do you know the drones are still following Weaselton?"

"The three laws programmed and hardwired into them are designed to ensure that no living human is ever killed unless absolutely necessary. They are very specific, unbreakable, uninterpretable rules that 'must all' be met before a drone is permitted to use any form of lethal force. The first is that a human's life must be present alongside the drone and that human's life must be 'threatened', the second is that the drone's own existence is threatened 'because' the human's life is threatened, and the third is that unless the drone takes 'lethal action' that is required in order to ensure the human's life is not threatened and no further loss of life is incurred because of the drone's actions, a drone cannot use any form of lethal response."

"Uh, short version?" Nick asked.

"Unless my life is threatened and unless the drone is 'required' to kill something or someone in order to ensure my life isn't threatened anymore, and if it doesn't kill anyone else, the drone cannot take a life. It will pursue any other possible avenue available to it before it pursues a lethal response." He simplified. "When we programmed it, we went through seven hundred and fifty thousand variable tests to ensure the three requirements couldn't be misinterpreted or broken, before hardwiring and reprogramming every drone to follow them."

"Okay, so at least we know Weaselton won't get murdered now, now what about the part that explains how you know the drones are still following him?" Judy asked.

"If I know the drones, which I do… they probably are following their pursuit programming and are currently maneuvering him to where I ordered them to bring him." He said, leading the way as he beckoned them to follow him. "RAPTOR class drones as I explained in the base to Nick, will 'never' lose sight of a target once they've sighted it. They use their heightened smell sensors and hearing to detect heartbeats and sweat glands. Obviously that Weasel will be in full panic and sweating up a storm from running while getting tired and in fear of the drones chasing him."

(Weaselton's PoV)

"Geheheahahah…" He grunted as he ran through the streets, trying to avoid the metal monster behind him, screeching and clanging after him. His heart was beating really fast as he ran full tilt to get away with his prize, and his tank top was super sweaty, in particular the armpit areas.

"_The drones can communicate with each other far better than even the creature they are based on, able to transmit data and information in nanoseconds, relaying location, probable pathways, and take the best courses of action to ensure they carry out their mission."_

He turned and saw the drone catching up on his right, attempting to cut him off from going right, so he ran left to try and catch it off guard, sliding under a car. It worked as the drone screeched and ran past, going the wrong direction.

He giggled at his genius before another screech caused him to run faster, as another metal monster jumped down an alley and followed him.

"_Since the drones operate in a pack mentality they act as one, each one performing an action to achieve their overall goal, and they also operate using the same hunting method my species theorized that the ancient species used when they hunted creatures in their time."_

He ducked down another side corner and slid through a small alleyway hoping it was too small for the machine to run through, and sure enough he saw it run past unable to get through.

"Hah ha!" He yelled triumphantly before.

"**Keeeeryaaaaaar!"**

He jumped and screamed in fear as in front of him a machine appeared and caused him to turn around, running for his life. It pursued him without hesitation, maintaining a set distance as he ran in terror.

"_Since they almost all look the same, unless you knew their identities or were one of them, you'd never guess which drone is the one following you. Because of this they use it to their advantage and ensure that you only ever see one of them if they are pursuing you. At the same time that one is following you constantly the other two are maneuvering either in front or to the side, cutting off your escapes and luring you into a trap."_

"Ghehehahahah…" He panted heavily as he ran back into Savanna Central Park and went to the square again, hoping to get lost in the crowd, but the machine behind him was now closing in.

It got up on his left and snapped, causing him to run right.

"_You will never see the second or third one until its too late, when the time comes the second will appear and corner you into the area the third is waiting."_

"**Gaaaawk, Gaaaaaaawk!"**

He looked ahead and saw a second machine snapping and snarling at him, cutting him off from the street, and making him turn to the left, the only other way he could run. He smiled as he saw 'Little Rodentia' ahead of him. If he could just get there, he could lose them again like last time among all the rodents and little buildings.

"_Once you get to where they want you, you have no choice but to confront the pack as a whole, and by that time it is too late to have any hope of escape."_

"**Hreeeaaaaaaaarg!"**

A third machine ran in front of him, right where he was going, causing him to skid to a stop and try to turn around, only to find that the other two were on either side, both stopping just short of him and snarling and glaring at him, preventing any hope of escape.

"Hnnnng…" He muttered as he backed away into a corner, the only corner they would let him.

"And because I told them to bring you here, here you are." A voice chided behind him, causing him to look around and see the human with both Officer Hopps and Wilde looking at him from the other side of the fence of Little Rodentia.

"If it isn't the Duke of Bootleg himself, Weaselton, got tired of selling bootleg movies and now decided to steal from an ancient species?" Nick asked with a smirk.

"Uh heheeey Nick… how can I help you?" Duke asked with a nervous cackle.

"**Hyeeeeeeees…"** The three metal monsters hissed in unison.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Drones, hop over here please and give us a lift back over." He asked politely. "And one of you stay over there to keep your eye on that thief. As for you…" He pointed at the weasel, "Don't even think of running, as you saw those drones can track you with precision and ease, and unlike you they can keep running for nearly three days 'straight'. So, you just stand right there for me."

"Yea Weaselton, just save us the trouble and sit there." Judy stated as two of the drones crouched and leapt over the fence to land behind them, while the third stayed with the thief.

"Y-yes officer!" He answered nervously.

As he, Nick and Judy all climbed onto the two drones the many, many rodent mammals of Little Rodentia ooh'd and aah'd as the drones stood proud and tall, before leaping over the fence to land perfectly on either side of the thief, locking him in place so he had no escape again.

"Alright Weaselton, hand over what you stole from Jeremy." Judy said before taking her cuffs out.

"Uh what are you talking about?" He said nervously.

Instantly a guitar began playing from his duffel bag, causing him to jump. **(I got my first real six string, bought it at the five an dime, played till my fingers bled, was the summer of sixty nine!)**

"You can hand her over to me, or the drones can do it for me, take your pick." He said coldly.

"Okay okay okay!" He said nervously as the drones eyed him.

He opened the bag and pulled out Aelita's holosphere, and quickly handed it to him. The AI was swaying around in her sphere and acting dizzy, before she settled and leaned against the side with both her hands and smiled happily as he held her sphere.

"I'm sorry Aelita, are you okay?" He said softly to the AI.

She looked up and nodded, before turning around and glaring at the weasel and shaking disapprovingly at him.

"Apologize to Aelita." He asked 'Duke' as the weasel was being cuffed.

"Why should I?"

"**Hyeeeeear!"** All three drones growled menacingly.

**[Unit Jeremy has made a request of you, respond immediately!]** The leader of the trio declared loudly.

"Okay okay okay!" He yelled fearfully while trying to get behind Judy and failing. "I'm sorry… okay I'm sorry!"

Aelita nodded in acceptance before she returned to leaning on Jeremy again.

"Officers, I am so sorry for all of the trouble I caused." He said as Judy and Nick led Weaselton to their squad car.

"Normally I'd forgive you and say it's understandable, but sadly Jeremy I also have to ask you to come in with us as well." Judy said. "Chief Bogo wants to talk to you, we got our orders to bring you in as well."

"Something about 'running around rampaging with metal monsters' and demanding to talk to you about them." Nick chuckled. "Oh, I can't wait to see how he reacts to this story."

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" He asked nervously.

"Don't know, I think Bogo wants to hear your story before he yells at us." Judy explained as she clipped Weaselton in the backseat. "Hop in."

Jeremy was a bit nervous but, seeing as he 'had' to explain why he and three RAPTOR class drones were running around Zootopia causing a panic, he got in the rear next to Weaselton, before looking at the drones as they followed him to the door of the car.

"Uh, what do you want me to do about the drones?" He asked.

"Can you make them go home?" Nick asked.

"Drones, return to base, resume standard sentry duty." He ordered.

As one all three drones shook their heads. **[Unable to comply, Human Protection Protocols remain in effect!]**

"Ugh, great… they detected my jump in heart rate when I got nervous about being in trouble and now, they think they need to protect me…" He complained to Aelita who shrugged. "They are ganna keep following me until they are sure I'm safe, I can't make them go back."

"Oh, this is ganna be fun…" Judy groaned as she started the car and they began to took off toward ZPD HQ, with all three drones following close behind in formation, causing quite a sight to the mammals as they watched.

Ten minutes later they were at ZPD, and after causing quite a scene at the front office in which every officer stared as Judy and Nick led Weaselton in cuffs, Jeremy holding Aelita behind them, and the three RAPTOR drones in formation behind him, all the way up to Bogo's office.

"Mr. Jeremy, I can accept a lot of things about you, first and foremost that you are an endangered species and being one that affords you certain immunities from the law." The bull said to him as he paced back and forth behind his desk. "What I cannot condone, and please forgive my rudeness, is you and those 'things' parading and tramping about Zootopia, causing an uproar!"

He pulled out a stack of papers and reports and slammed them on the desk.

"Two hundred, 'two hundred' call ins about your drones causing panic in the streets, mammals left and right thinking they are under attack and calling for help! My officers have been running ragged the last hour because of you and your machines!" He snarled before sitting down. "An explanation… if you please."

He was keeping his heartbeat in check and his emotions calm, not for his sake but for Bogo's sake. The drones were still in the room, standing behind him, and they were still obeying the Human Protection Protocols, if they perceived Bogo as a threat who knows what they might do to protect 'him' from the Bull Chief of Police.

"Chief Bogo… I can understand your anger and frustration with me, frankly its warranted and if you need to arrest me in order to punish me for what happened I accept it." He stated. "However, in my defense… Weaselton knocked me down and stole Aelita… my friend… and ran off with her."

The AI nodded in agreement, before changing her form to take Weaselton's form and recreating the scene in her sphere.

"Aelita has within her database, her identity, over six hundred years of my species culture, knowledge, wisdom, history… everything. I cannot afford to let anything bad happen to her, if anything does then the only thing that remains of my species will be what little history and technology remains in the base and my memories of them… and that isn't much compared to what we'd lose if she is lost." He explained. "The drones, I cannot control entirely, if they perceive anything to be a threat to 'me' and my life, they will do whatever they feel is necessary to protect me. As for them running around, I 'told' them to bring Weaselton to me, but they are also programmed not to harm unless absolutely necessary, and even then they will pursue all other options before they consider hurting anything living. She is my species 'emissary' to you mammals if we died out, and she was meant to guide my species or whoever came after us to a better future and ensure the mistakes 'we' made were never repeated."

He then held her close to his heart and looked into Bogo's eyes. "Given that he tried to steal my species 'culture', and what was at stake, I feel I was within my rights to take whatever action necessary action to ensure her safe return to me."

There was a moment of silence before Bogo leaned into his chair and put on some reading glasses.

"Fortunately for you, I and the Mayor are in agreement." He said politely. "Therefore, you don't have to worry about being punished, and given your statement I can report to the public of what happened so this matter can be smoothed over by the mayor. However, next time keep your 'machines' in check!"

He breathed a sigh of relief at that.

"As for 'YOU' Mr. Weaselton!" Bogo growled as the weasel shrank nervously in Judy's custody. "Your going to be in for a bit longer for stealing 'Aelita' was it?" He asked the AI who nodded. "Stealing 'her' than stealing 'moldy onions' like the last time. Since she is considered alive, I am putting you down for 'kidnapping' and 'attempted theft' as well as 'reckless endangerment of mammals AND rodents', and at least 'two' counts of property damage!"

"Hopps, Wilde, process him!" He ordered.

"Got it chief." Nick saluted as Judy walked out with the weasel.

"Before you take him away may I talk to him for a moment?" He quickly asked the bull.

Chief Bogo nodded as he began pulling out paperwork.

He and Aelita walked out of the room, leading the drones as well and asked Judy and Nick to wait for a moment.

"What do you want?" He asked rudely.

The drone's optics turned red at his tone, but Jeremy silenced 'them' with a look.

"Duke was it, what do you do for a living?" He asked politely.

"I do nothing for a living, I sell dvds for discount price on the street!" He said.

"The Duke of Bootleg, Duke Weaselton." Nick chuckled.

"Right… and I guess you tried to steal Aelita to probably sell or ransom…" He said politely.

"Yea so what!"

"Duke, please for your sake… don't do that anymore, stealing from others isn't right and it doesn't help you at all." He explained warmly, or as warmly as he could since he remembered this mammal tried to steal his 'friend'. "Where I came from… before my species died out… we were struggling just like you to get by every day. I heard of some people like you, stealing from others, because they 'needed' more than was available. I've heard of humans from before I was born stealing from families, they'd killed…"

At that the weasel looked curious at that. "What'd they steal, gold, jewels, diamonds?"

Jeremy pointed at a pair of rhino officers who were lounging near a pair of beverage dispensers, more specifically a bottle of water that one of them was drinking out of.

"Water… they killed a family… for 'water'?" The weasel asked.

"Back then there was so little water to drink, people would kill for even a sip." He said sadly. "And there was one human who chose to kill a family of five, two young girls a boy, their father and mother, for a single bottle of water he was hunted down by a RAPTOR class drone… this one to be precise."

He nodded at the lead drone.

Weaselton gulped as he looked at the drone.

"Only reason you weren't harmed by them, was because they are programmed not to harm mammals, or anything living, unless 'my' life is threatened. This drone saw that human as a threat to 'all' humans because of what they did, and so hunted them down." He explained. "So, learn from me, learn from my species… the more you take… the less you'll have. Give your life more meaning, if not for others than yourself. When you refuse to steal for greed and live life honestly, you show others that you are someone, and not another 'no one'."

With that he apologized again to Judy and Nick for taking so long and walked out of ZPD with the three drones following behind.

"Aelita, can you call Gazelle and ask her for pickup… I don't think I can find our way back to where we left her." He asked her.

Aelita nodded and held her hand to her ear, with her thumb and pinkie extended to mirror a phone, indicating she was already telling her.

"As for you three, go back to the base and resume your standard sentry duties!"

**[Human Protection Protocols are still in effect, in order to obey this order, one of these units must remain until you are safely within Unit Gazelle's custody.]** The Lead Drone stated.

"Fine, you two head on back to the base… and maintain 'Stealth Mode' until you get back to the facility, understood?" He asked.

**[Order acknowledged.]** It replied, before turning and marching off with one of the assisting RAPTOR drones.

He sighed as he sat on a bench nearby, getting attention from mammals who were staring at the drone and taking pictures.

While he waited some mammals, who were extremely curious and also slightly scared, got closer to him to ask him questions when they did.

"Mr. Human?" A pair of Tiger cubs asked him, watched over by their mother.

"Yes?" He replied sweetly to the two cubs.

"Uhm… what is that?" The younger of the two, a boy by the sounds of them asked, pointing at the RAPTOR which stared silently around.

He smiled as he replied, "That's a RAPTOR drone, a 'robot' my species created ages ago." He explained. "It's here protecting me until a mammal I'm living with comes to pick me and my friend up."

"Why does it look like that?" The other cub, a girl asked.

"Because my species based it on a creature that once lived but no longer does." He said.

"Was it from 'human times'?" They asked together as more mammals got over their fear and got closer to hear the story.

"No, actually it existed way… way… WAY before my species most distant ancestor was even on this planet!" He said proudly as Aelita smiled at him from the bench.

He got up and beckoned to the drone, pointing at various parts of it and began talking about them.

"This particular drone line, called RAPTOR, are based on Raptors, an ancient species of lizard like creatures called Dinosaurs. This particular drone and the other two that were with me earlier are based on Velociraptors, a species that once existed millions of years ago, over seventy million years to be exact! And they were among the most intelligent species of dinosaur that we knew of, extremely capable 'predators' that hunted in packs."

"Wow!" The little cubs said in awe as the drone looked around.

"Some species of Raptor were shorter than me, but far stronger and with extremely cunning intelligence. Able to outmaneuver and…"

Drone Chapter – Ancient Predator and Modern Prey

*Jeremy's Personal Log 246*

*During my time in the base after I woke up, I encountered several interesting accounts from my past regarding the drones that I didn't ever read about or learn about as a kid, or even as a teenager. Mostly regarding the drones of Category 6, and the weird if not somewhat risky transition they make when their AI's logic pathways and algorithms grow without intent, evolving from Category 6 to Category 7 class AIs.*

*Among these accounts is a drone unit that went from Category 6 to 7, and then from 7 to 8, when it's AI, unable to cope with the huge amount of 'data' it had to deal with because of its new category, crashed and had to be reset at the base AI program it was given, which was category 6. The reason for it, was because apparently the drone began interacting with a human female, and after constant interactions with the human over an extremely extensive period of time, grew in both 'personality' and 'knowledge', eventually growing in AI to become category 7 and then eventually 8.*

*What makes it weird, is that before it expired, it declared it 'loved' a human woman… and begged in its final moments, that we 'not' tell her. This begs the question, can these drones 'feel' emotions, and if so… how would they react to 'us' knowing what we have done with them?*

(Unit PT-173's PoV)

It marched off toward the drone, optics blue as it took the most direct course to the base waypoint. As it did 'flesh units', referred to by Unit Jeremy as 'Mammals' got out of their way, some out of fear. Others simply stared at them as they walked, observing their actions as they marched.

Behind it Unit ZG-242 marched behind, obeying the order to 'return to base' and following behind it, as that unit's AI was of Category 5, and therefore superseded it's authority to 'it's' authority, as it was of Category 6.

As they walked down an empty alley to go onto a street which would eventually lead them back to the base, it heard some shouting and detected a pair of heart beats up ahead, causing it to pause in its march as the tones caught its attention.

"Paulo you can't go spending our money on alcohol, we need it to pay rent!" A female voice said.

"Ah shutup Lula, I had a hard day I deserve some booze in my life!" A male voice replied.

"But we're behind in rent for 'two months', if we miss another month we'll be evicted!"

"And who's fault is that!?"

Detecting the voices and judging by the tones, it seemed to be a 'class seventy-seven domestic dispute' according to its database, so it moved on and chose to ignore it, marching onward to the street.

As it reached the street with Unit ZG-242 behind...

"I keep telling you, I can't work my job anymore because my job laid me off!" The female voice explained. "This means until I get a new job your income's all we have! We can't live off of beer and takeout Paulo."

"Yea well that's all I've 'got' since you sure aint giving me anything else!" The male voice chided back, his voice slurring every few words.

"What's that supposed to mean!"

It turned the corner to head to the base and saw the source of the two voices coming from a pair of Antelopes.

At first it was going to ignore them, as they were not a threat, nor was it ordered to interact with 'mammals' by the creator species, Unit Jeremy. Yet its optics scanned the faces of the two 'mammals' and its facial recognition program instantly identified the female as 'Savior One', a classification identity and number the drones had given the mammals who provided power to Unit Jeremy's pod before it expired, thus saving the last of the Creator Species.

"I'm saying you never give me any of 'this' after a hard day's work!" The male said, identified by vocal memory as 'Paulo', as they grabbed the female by her rear end.

"Get your hands off me Paulo!" She replied angrily. "You think I'm going to sleep with you when you come back home late reeking of beer and cigarettes?"

"You aint never sleep with me to begin with Lula!" He snarled back as she slapped his hand away.

**[Unit PT-173, our orders are to return to the base and resume sentry duty, request reason for delay.]**

**[Unit ZG-242, this unit has delayed arrival time…]** It began saying before the two mammals began shouting.

"Get away from me, I can't believe you would even 'accuse me' of sleeping with some other mammal!" Lula shouted.

"Shut up you bitch!" Paulo shouted back, slapping Lula to the ground heavily with the bottle in his hand. "You probably whoring yourself out to whoever looks at you and is willing to 'pay you' for an hour!"

At that it acted and marched up in 'stealth mode' behind them.

"You're living in 'my' apartment since it's MY MONEY paying the rent, so I decide what you 'do'… and if I say…"

Lula was looking behind Paulo in fear as Unit PT-173 stood up and glared at the back of the male antelope's skull.

"What do you want?!" He screamed as he turned around and wacked it with the bottle.

The bottle smashed on its duratanium plate armor, causing not even a scratch, or so much as the tiniest of scrape. What remained of the liquid inside of the bottle splashed around and onto the floor.

"Ah… h…ah… ha…." Paulo stuttered in fear.

PT-173 opened its mouth, revealed its diamond tipped teeth, extended its clawed hands and changed the color of its optics to red, before leaning forward in a sudden motion and 'screamed', **"Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaer!"**

"Aaaaaaaah!" He screamed as he ran away, leaving Lula behind on the ground still in fear.

It retracted its claws, closed its mouth, and turned to Lula who still laid on the ground.

"D… don't hurt me…" She begged in fear.

**[This unit will not harm you.] **It stated as it just stared at her before it leaned down and offered a claw. **[Are you… damaged?]**

"I… I'm okay…" She muttered, slowly taking the claw and carefully getting up. "Th… thank you for helping me."

**[This Unit… had to intervene.]** It stated. **[You are 'Savior One'…]**

"Savior One?" She asked in confusion.

**[Savior One, first of the thirty-seven who provided power to Unit Jeremy's Cryostasis Pod… saving the last of the creator species.]** It stated. **[All Drones of Category Six… have recorded your images… our orders… treat as if they are the creator species… by order of Sentinel.]**

"Oh… oh you mean the egg!" She said happily. "Yea, my phone died because of that egg, I'm happy that Jeremy is alive. Where is he living by the way?"

It scanned its memory and found that the information regarding Jeremy's location and residence was 'classified'. **[This unit cannot respond, access to that information is denied…]**

"Oh… I see…" She replied sounding disheartened.

It looked around the street before returning to her. **[Where do you live… this unit will escort you to your home… before returning to Facility 17.]**

She sighed and looked back at where the male antelope had been before he vanished. "Currently homeless now that my stupid 'boyfriend'… 'ex-boyfriend'… kicked me out after today it seemed." She growled. "All because I wouldn't sleep with him… I thought he wanted to wait until we got married…"

It contemplated that information before communicating with Sentinel, and from Sentinel Aelita. It transmitted a request, relaying the information, and then soon received the information.

**[This unit has been authorized to offer you sanctuary at Eden Facility 17… until a time as you decide you wish to leave… by order of 'Unit Aelita'… and authorized by Unit Jeremy.]**

At that she looked at it in surprise. "Wait… you will let me stay in your base… like 'really' stay?" She asked.

**[Affirmative…]** It replied. **[If you wish… this unit will escort you to Facility 17… you have a room authorized to you… standard living quarters.]**

It bent down and after a few moments of hesitation, Lula tentatively climbed onto its back and settled in. Once she was firmly in place Unit PT-173 stood and began marching at a slightly faster pace to Facility 17, gaining speed as the few mammals that were still out at the late hour stared and took snapshots of the three of them.

"Thank you… by the way… for helping me back there." She said to it.

**[This unit does not require appreciation… it merely followed an order…]** It replied.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve 'some' gratitude for what you did."

Having no response to that, it just turned down a street and made the final beeline to the base entrance.

Drone Chapter – The Sacred Duct Tape Search Pt 2

(Fox Drone P8-44)

**[Unit P8-44 reporting in, still no sign of subject Duct Tape.]**

**[Unit P8-44, status of level three search pattern completion?]**

**[Search pattern Alpha, Zeta, Gamma, Three two five… completion rate fifteen percent.]**

It gained access to one of the living quarters and began examining every square inch for the Duct Tape roll. So far it has examined an empty Hydroponics Bay, an energy storage bay, fifteen living quarters, and an entire parts room with no sign of the last roll of the Duct Tape.

**[Query… have any units examined the ANT Storage Bay?]**

**[Negative!]**

**[Negative.]**

**[Negative.]**

**[Why have no units examined the ANT Storage Bay?]**

**[Unit Jeremy has frequently been in that room, and unit Jeremy has not encountered the Last Roll of Duct Tape in it.]**

**[Has Unit Jeremy looked for the Duct Tape in the room?]**

**[Negative]** All the other units declared in unison.

**[Query, permission to deviate from the current search pattern to examine the Ant Storage Bay?]**

**[Denied, if search pattern is not completed on time search pattern will be delayed.]**

With that it turned back to the floor and began looking around, opening up various compartments and drawers in the room. It may be Category Six and a FOX drone, but when it came to rank it was only P8, the drone leading the search was C2.


	15. Chapter 15

_Glass half empty, Glass half full, well either way you won't be going thirsty~_

_Count your blessings not your fault, you've got it all you lost your mind in the sound~_

_There's so much more, you can reclaim your crown~_

_You're in control rid of the monster inside your head~_

_Put all your faults to bed… you can be king again~_

Chapter 15) Synthorgans

(Aelita's PoV)

She tapped into the communications broadcasting system and tuned into the most watched news program in Zootopia, ZNN.

"_Welcome back to ZNN as we return to our main story of the week, 'Humans and their Machines'."_ A Caribou said as the image of an overly dramatized RAPTOR class drone appeared on the broadcast.

The image naturally portrayed the most terrifying features of the drone, the red optics and tracking lasers in hunting mode, the diamond tipped razor sharp teeth, the copper tipped toed feet and jagged serrated claws they had for hunting giving it an almost 'feral' look. It was honestly an accurate portrayal in her opinion, even if it served to contradict what she was trying to do with Jeremy.

"_Two days ago, late in the afternoon, three human machines went on in what witnesses described as a 'rampage' through the streets of a suburban district near Savannah Central Park. According to witness testimony the machines, more appropriately termed 'drones' by the Mayor and Zootopia Officials, ran through the streets days ago causing a panic among mammals as they chased after a weasel who led 'three' of these drones in a massive chase. Descriptions of the drones by panicked prey mammals and predators claim that they were roaring, snarling, and snapping their teeth as they ran through the streets with zero regard for locals."_

"_While no mammals were harmed, and it was later revealed that the weasel they were chasing had stolen a valuable piece of technology from the Human, Jeremy Wilheart, known as the Artificial Intelligence, or 'AI', called Aelita, the sheer presence of these machines caused a panic and uproar as mammals, both predator and prey, feared that they were being attacked by these machines."_

She frowned slightly at that, not the 'panic in the streets' part, but that they referred to her not as a living being, merely as an 'AI'. Even if it was technically correct terminology it still upset her at the core. The drones causing a scare was inevitable, but she had other things to concern herself with as the coverage continued.

"_When confronted about this at City Hall, Mayor Lioness responded quite vocally… we go now to the recorded clip…"_

The newsfeed changed to show a clip from a camera at City Hall as reporters bombarded the mayor with questions even as she was trying to get to an elevator. _"Mayor Lioness, do these machines pose a serious threat to Zootopia citizens?"_

"_As far as I am aware and as far as I have been told, these 'machines' or 'drones' whatever you wish to call them, pose no threat to anymammal provided those mammals do not threaten the human 'Jeremy'."_ The mayor said in annoyance. _"According to what I've been told, from the human, they follow a set of 'commands' hardwired into them, that prevent them from doing any harm, unless 'his' life is threatened, and even then, they will take every other possible option before they even consider lethal action!"_

"_Mayor Lioness, is it possible that these machines can be 'ordered' to hurt mammals or even kill them?"_

"_As far as I know, even if ordered they will not kill because they follow something called the 'Three Conditions Required to Authorize the Use of Lethal Force'."_ She replied in frustration while trying to reach the elevator.

"_Mayor Lioness, mammals have been calling for you to end the threat of the ancient species and their machines, some mammals are even calling for you to 'put him down' and destroy the human technology, a response to this please?"_

At that she paid careful attention, not liking how it was phrased.

"_Listen here, and I want this to be made very clear…"_ The Mayor said, turning and snarling as she finally got to an elevator. _"Jeremy is a living mammal, even if SOME mammals don't think so. He is an endangered species and as such is to be given the same respect and protection as we would give 'any' mammal of Zootopia. If anymammal wants to carry out that threat, then I say I will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law!"_ She snarled one more time before going into the elevator. _"That is if those drones give you the chance!"_

"_Miss Mayor!"_

"_Miss Mayor!"_

"_There you have it; Mayor Lioness insists that mammals are safe from these drones despite public outrage and opinions." _The news anchor said._ "However yesterday, in response to the possible 'threat' some mammals seem to have toward the human, Mayor Lioness gave authorization to Jeremy which has allowed him a 'single' drone escort at all times while outside of the safety of his base, and not within the safe confines of a mammal who he is living with, who has remained anonymous for both their safety."_

She ended the feed to herself and began thinking.

So far, she and Jeremy have had a negative impact on the mammals as a whole, not what she was expecting or hoping for. The drones haven't helped his image, especially the RAPTORs, who had now become the primary image of 'fear' regarding her creators and charge. There was little she could do at this point to change the image, as thanks to the mammal's media, she wasn't even being considered 'alive' outside of a few individuals and a very small circle.

Singing at a local karaoke to a small group, while fun, wasn't going to win their hearts and minds. The only way they were going to reverse this was if 'Jeremy' did something to change the image, but the question was what…

Once more she decided to trust in her knowledge, her database, the 'Wisdom of Humanity' to help guide her actions as she sat in the empty command center.

It was empty because most of the mammals who had been coming here had chosen to no longer visit out of personal fear for their safety. She had been showing them much of human literature, human philosophy, arts, even showing them architecture and engineering planning in various fields, as Jeremy asked her to. Yet it seemed that it was 'time' to finally play the final card she had available to her to help win the mammal's hearts over to her view and vision of the world she wished to build with them.

So she consulted the 'Wisdom of Humanity' and posed the question to it, 'How do I sway the public opinion of a very nervous and scared sentient species, who have grown up with tales of horror and fear of her creator species, who now wish harm upon the last living member of that species simply for 'existing' due to the fearful look and nature of technology that cannot express feelings or thoughts of their own, AND help improve the relationship between the two groups'?

Within seconds thousands upon thousands of voices, ideas, debates, thoughts and reasons were being thrown this way and that way, trying to answer her question with the best possible outcome. She held her chin with her hand as the debates and thoughts, questions and answers raged on inside her like a torrential storm, all of them seeking a solution which would satisfy the whole. It was taking a bit longer this time compared to before as she paced in the room, since she had posed such a difficult question.

All she could do was 'wait' for an answer now, which came to her a while later.

The answer she got was a curious one, because while she already knew that the outcome was required in order to help their situation, the 'ideal outcome' she wanted required a great deal of assistance to achieve it.

The Wisdom of Humanity told her that in order to aid the image, she would need to gift technology that would aid mammals. This she knew she would have to do, it was the only viable option, she had intended to convince Jeremy to offer 'clean energy' solutions to mammal society, such as solving their need to use fossil fuels to power their motorized vehicles, even going so far as to give them advanced anti-gravity technology to help them create 'hover vehicles' as the mammals would describe them.

Instead, the Wisdom of Humanity advised her to gift 'medical technology', technology that would appear to be a 'miracle' to them and deliver it in a way that would require perfect timing in order to achieve the result she wanted to achieve.

For a microsecond it was complicated, but then she smiled and thanked humanity for giving her insight. If drones are weapons of war and are a destructive and fearful technology of humanity, then the only way to counterbalance the horror of humanity's technology was to demonstrate the wonder and good its technology could do.

Now the only question as tapped into the base's manifest records, was 'how' to go about that plan?

(Jeremy's PoV)

"There… that's it for now." He said as he signaled MUTT to disengage from his body.

MUTT separated and reformed its body behind him, resuming its form as a mechanical canine as he got up from his work. All around him drones had gathered just as all other times to watch him construct the new drone model. So far, he had completed the absolute barebones design of the drone, it stood roughly eight to nine feet in height, around five to six feet in length and was four to five feet wide. It stood on four 'thin' skeletal legs at the moment, lacked the outer metallic shell that the other drones had, was missing a slew of components and inner mechanisms and especially an AI to control it's functions as well as the circuitry and motherboards to give it independent movement, but it was at least a step in the direction.

**[Bark Bark, orders? Bark Bark.]** MUTT requested as he stood up.

"Everyone, go back to your standard duties." He replied.

**[Acknowledged!]** They declared in unison, before scrambling out from various access points in the storage bay.

He on the other hand sighed and slowly trudged out of the room, watching the drones go this way and that way, clearing a path for him as they went about their business. As he walked through the base, choosing not to take the lifts and take the 'stairs', he heard one permeating sound throughout his trip, one that constantly reminded him of his situation no matter what he did.

The silence, the lack of 'bodies' in the hallways and corridors, the lack of voices and idle chatter, the missing laughter and sounds of talk, the voices of gossip talking about random things at every turn he took. He knew why that was… because it felt to him as if only yesterday, he was hearing his fellow 'Eden Facility 17' neighbors talking about their lives, and hearing people say teary goodbyes. Yet now it was deathly silent, the only sound coming from various drones as they clanked and marched this way and that doing whatever Sentinel was ordering them to.

He passed by a couple of living rooms and glanced at the name, 'Robinsons, Jeffrey, Alex, Naomi, Felicity' and sighed, before walking on. This kept on happening, with him walking around and looking at various rooms as he passed them by, reading their names and briefly recalling the residents from his memory. The problem now though, was that he was having a harder and harder time remembering them.

"To me its only a couple of months at most… but, already I'm forgetting things… like…" He whispered before shaking his head and moving on.

He climbed up another flight and reached the level of the command center to collect Aelita.

"Oh, wait please!" He heard a voice call out, one he hadn't heard before but knew who it was thanks to Aelita and the drones.

He turned around to see an antelope, sort of similar to Gazelle but clearly different when comparing them. She was slightly taller than Gazelle, almost a head or two higher than her, with shorter horns and more yellowish fur when compared to her.

"Hi, is there something I can do for you?" He asked her warmly.

"No, its… just…" The antelope was saying, almost sounding too timid and nervous to speak as she stood before him. "Uhm… I'm Lula… Lula Wildgrass, and I don't know if you know but I'm…"

"Savior One, as the drones call you." He said with a warm smile.

"You know?" She said in amazement.

"I've made it a point to memorize the names of the mammals who saved my life… or at least try." He chuckled nervously, before bowing to her. "Thank you for saving my life ma'am, if there's any way I can repay you for saving me…"

"Please don't bow to me!" She said hurriedly, making him look up at her.

He noticed she had gone to her knees at this point and was bowing to 'him' now.

"Please… you've done more than enough for the likes of somemammal like me." She whispered apologetically. "You let me stay here after I was kicked out of my home, you let me live here essentially for free, you even had your drones get my things and bring them here for me. All because I plugged my old phone into your 'egg' to give you just another hour's time."

Indeed, as Aelita explained to him yesterday the situation regarding 'Lula' the base's first permanent mammal resident thus far had nowhere to go really. And since she didn't want to confront her now 'ex' boyfriend about getting her things, Jeremy had asked Aelita to send a small team of FOX drones to 'secure' Lula's stuff with her.

The squad of seven FOX drones had slipped into her apartment according to her instructions, and in broad daylight taken all of her things without any mammal being aware, using their holographic emitters to disguise their actions. Then they brought the items back within a few hours so that she could live there until she was able to get better situated in life.

"You don't have to repay me, you've given me more than you can imagine." She said quietly.

He chuckled at that which caused her to look at him in confusion. "How about we just say, we're 'even' then?"

She smiled back and nodded while standing up. "By the way, do you know where that one drone is… uh… PT-173 I think he was called?"

"PT-173, if I recall its on sentry duty for the elevator entrance." He said in thought. "Is there a reason why you want to know?"

"Well I wanted to thank it for helping me out again, its not everyday a girl gets rescued by some ancient technology… or is it advanced technology?"

"I think its both at this point." He muttered. "If you'll excuse me Lula…"

He turned and walked away, leaving the antelope to watch him leave alone.

Minutes later he collected Aelita from the command center, taking her holosphere in hand, and walking out of the base and into the daylight with a single RAPTOR drone accompanying him. After he heard on the news that some mammals, out of fear of him if not the drones, had the thought of hurting him, Mayor Lioness asked him to have a drone with him at all times while outside of the base and not in the company of Gazelle or in the confines of her home. He had only acquiesced to her request because she had insisted it was for his protection. Though try as he might, he couldn't get any other drone to be his 'guardian' that 'wasn't' a RAPTOR class drone.

Of the Sentinel drones available to him, the RAPTOR class drones were by far the most effective combat drones to use for the purpose of keeping him safe. The DOG drones, as efficient as they were at fighting did not have the fear factor that the RAPTORs had, and the FOX drones were more for assassination and infiltration then frontline bodyguard duty.

The lone SCORPIO class drone he had reprogrammed was also out of the picture, seeing as its sheer size had taken all of the ANTs days to break down, reassemble, and move for the funeral service. It also lacked weapons of any kind outside of its size, tail and pincers, making it less ideal for protecting him besides as a massive armored 'tank'.

Also, Chief Bogo didn't want anything bigger than Jeremy walking around with him, three RAPTORs had been enough of a hassle.

Aelita entered the data regarding the possible threat to Jeremy's life to Sentinel, and Sentinel had chosen to assign a single RAPTOR drone to protect him at all time while outside. He had attempted to override, trying to get a DOG drone to minimize the 'threat potential', but Sentinel's orders had been decided. Not even Aelita could override the base AI, as it had command over the 'Sentinel Drones'.

So now he walked out of the base with RK-004, a RAPTOR class drone with a category 5 AI. As a small concession, the lone RAPTOR lacked its major weapons systems, only having basic firearms installed inside its arms, and of course the teeth, claws, and talons that all RAPTOR drones had.

"Aelita, can you guide us to the graves?" He asked his friend.

The AI nodded in her sphere and pointed in the direction he needed to go, and off they went with the drone following behind.

It didn't take long before he got attention from locals, both because of who he was and because of the metallic drone following behind, clanking in 'stealth mode' as its specialized rubber talons hit pavement and concrete with each step. Aelita for the most part went unnoticed as she was small and was sitting in Jeremy's hands. Mammals seeing him either quickly got out of his way or did their absolute best to avoid making eye contact with him or his robotic protector.

When it came time to cross a street, he noticed that every mammal seemed to have chosen alternate routes to avoid crossing with him or crossing his path. To him it seemed they were treating him like he had some kind of contagious disease.

"I knew having a drone, any drone, would be a horrible idea." He muttered as he crossed the street with Aelita.

Aelita nodded in agreement, watching how empty their path was.

Just as he was about to cross in front of a truck to reach the other side of the street a car screeched to a halt, making him jump in panic as he wasn't expecting a vehicle to try turning when he still had the 'all clear' sign to cross.

"HEY WATCH IT YOU-" The Boar driver said, snarling as he leaned out of his car to shake his fist and yell at him, before he realized his mistake and stopped talking.

Seconds after he spoke the drone leapt forward and began snarling, causing the driver to crawl back into his car in fear.

"Stand down!" He ordered, causing the drone to nod and back away.

Once the drone was in place, he stepped toward the Boar driver and bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't see you were about to turn… I take full responsibility for my drone scaring you." He said before resuming walking, getting more looks and murmurs.

Even though he couldn't hear them very well, he could hear snippets of what his onlookers were saying. Some of there were telling others to stay clear of him, others to not go near him or his 'machine', and others saying how he shouldn't be allowed to walk freely with a drone.

It reminded him of how 'alien' he was to these mammals, and how unwelcomed he was outside of Gazelle's home, and her small circle of friends that knew of him and Aelita.

Half an hour of walking later he arrived at Zootopia Central Gardens, the burial site for the humans who died in the base and their final resting place.

"Alright stay here." He ordered the drone as he was about to enter.

**[Negative, this action is not advisable, potential threat remains.]** The drone stated.

"I said 'stay here', that's an order!" He declared.

After a moment the drone nodded and replied, **[As you command.]**

With the order acknowledged he walked into the grave site with only Aelita to pay a visit to his friends.

As he passed the first row of graves after passing the beautiful glass sculpture, still showing the spinning miniature Solar Core within its confines, he looked around to see multitudes of little gifts and trinkets for the graves. Seeing them made him smile warmly as he saw that mammals were still coming here to pay their respects to his lost friends. Even though they knew none of them, even despite how 'scary' he and their technology appeared, there were still mammals who showed that they cared about his species even in death.

Among the gifts as he walked past were small vases of flowers, little jars of candy, the occasional stuffed toy or disposable picture of a mammal with little notes and letters to the humans. It brought a warm tear to him to know that at least 'somebody' cared about them.

Finally, near the middle he found the grave he was looking for, 'Julian Wilheart', his father.

"Hi dad…" He muttered quietly, gently placing Aelita down on the ground. "Sorry it took us a while to visit you… a lot happened to us."

Aelita waved sadly at the grave, nodding toward Jeremy and shaking her head in sadness.

"Yea… we've been having problems…" He whispered to the grave. "I know I promised you guys… that I'd redeem you, that I wouldn't give up no matter what. But… I'm just so lost dad, I don't know what to do!"

He could imagine his dad sitting before him, probably chuckling and telling him off for how 'he was overcomplicating things' and just 'take it easy and tell him what's wrong'.

"At first things were going well, I was starting to make some friends, Aelita was helping me get out and about… and… then it all began to fall apart, all because one 'stupid' mammal wanted to try and make a quick buck off of our technology." He stated. "Aelita gets stolen from me, and in my panic, not only do I chase after this mammal, but I also send three drones, running on their own in the streets, causing chaos and panic. Now some mammals are afraid I'm going to hurt them using our technology… and now I need to have a drone with me whenever I leave the base for any reason or am on my own! And it's only causing even MORE fear and panic towards us."

He sighed as he looked down at the grave, wishing for even the briefest moment his father was alive, if only just to give him advice.

"I don't know what to do dad… there's nothing needing fixing, the world has repaired itself… and life has gone on without us being there. What do I do, everything I was trained for to do is 'worthless'… there's nothing for me here?" He whispered. "I just wanted to help… now I can't seem to help anyone without causing fear."

Aelita next to him looked solemnly up at him before turning to the grave, and began motioning with her hands, first to Jeremy, then to herself, then the whole world before shaking her head and holding her face with the palm of one hand. Then she sighed and shrugged her shoulders, leaning from side to side as if saying 'I don't know what to do either'.

"Yea what Aelita said, we just don't know what to do dad…" He said sadly, kneeling down next to the grave. "Part of me… part of me really wishes… I'd died with you all. At least I wouldn't be alone in this world… it's not easy being the last human on Earth."

Aelita looked up at him in sadness, getting his attention by flashing him with light, and quickly transformed into Gazelle's form, before returning to normal.

"Yea… its not all gloom though Dad… I met a really wonderful mammal who's helped me so much… I wouldn't be here if not for her help and encouragement." He said, remembering Gazelle. "She's beautiful, charming, friendly and smart… smarter then she lets on, and she's helped me get over the shock when I heard you were all dead. She's even letting me live in her home… and I just… want to repay her however I can. She's done so much for me… I wish I could have introduced you to her… I bet you would have loved to meet her…"

There was a moment of silence before someone muttered, "I would have loved to meet him too."

He turned around to see Gazelle standing behind him wearing a short sleeve dress with matching dress pants and looking at him with a saddened smile.

"Gazelle when did you get here?" He asked as he quickly made to get up but was gently nudged back down as she chose to kneel with him before the graves.

"About when you were mentioning me to your father…" She said with a warm smile. "That was very lovely of you, how you described me… I haven't heard anymammal describe me like that to anymammal."

"Well it is true…" He muttered while blushing.

There was silence as he turned back to the grave, now unsure of what to do since the girl he was talking about had arrived.

"I guess you came to visit your friends?" She asked curiously.

"More like talk to them…" He muttered. "I was thinking maybe talking to them… might help me figure out some things…"

Silently she put a hand on his shoulder and patted him assuredly. "Did it help?"

"No…" He said with a shake. "I'm just as lost as before… I even asked Aelita earlier to help me… but even the 'Wisdom of Humanity' wasn't giving anything clear to work with."

"What did it say?"

Aelita got their attention and responded, pointing at Jeremy, then holding her heart, smiled and then held her arms out as if to embrace them in a beautiful hug with palms pointing outward.

"She said that if I'm to win the hearts and minds of mammals, I have to show them the good of humans and not just the bad… whatever that means." He replied. "So, I came here thinking my friends… my father… anyone could help me."

They sat in silence again before Gazelle asked an important question.

"What were some of your friends like?"

"You wouldn't want to know, its real boring and… not at all important now."

"I'd still like to know." She said warmly. "I'd love to know more about humans and who they were like. Were they anything like mammals, did they like music, did they like ice cream, did they like sleeping in after sunrise?"

"Oh, yea we did… all of those… especially 'before' the war…" He said with a halfhearted chuckle. "I could tell stories about some of my friends…"

As he looked around, he saw off to the side the name 'Julie Peterson' and remembered something about her. "Julie, she and her mother were in the dorm room next to me and my dad… when she was only six, she tried to get our parents to hook up. She said since she and her mommy had no daddy, and how me and my dad had no mommy, and how she always wanted a bigger brother we should become a family… it was the cutest thing ever… a little girl just wanting to create a new family using pieces of broken families."

He could just picture that cute little girl, a small girl with light-dark skin following after him pretending to be his little sister. Calling him 'big brother' and wanting to study with him, eat with him, anything to make herself feel like a real little sister.

"And… and Jordan…" He said, pointing further over, noticing the grave of 'Jordan Yule'. "Jordan was the smartest in his generation, he kept on boasting how when the world was better, he'd make the first ever Category 11 AI, an AI so smart that it would put any human to shame! He was waiting for someone to create a Category 10 AI so he knew what he had to best…"

He could almost hear Jordan pretending over a lunch of 'sloppy paste' that he was going to prove the theories of AI wrong, and that they were not only sentient but also feeling and understanding. He also could hear people laughing and dismissing him, thinking he was just boasting and talking loudly to impress 'Jessica' who was the prettiest girl at the time in their class.

"Then there's Robbie, my old classmate in Architectural Engineering Theory… he wanted to build a 'Utopia City' where all humans could live, and nothing bad ever happened. Where the sick would be treated, nobody ever went to bed hungry, and everyone could pursue their hobbies and live happily without ever having to work anymore…"

He could just envision Robbie now, sitting next to him, drawing on his sketchbook, one of the few 'old school' planning techniques that most people didn't do anymore as it was impractical compared to 3D Holo-Building and Planning. He could just hear him chuckle as people talked down to his 'archaic methods of designing' while still scratching onward, constantly scratching out numbers and designs and wasting paper with his ideas.

As he listed each of them off one by one, each memory of every human, every person he knew, everything he knew of them it made him cry more and more. With each memory, every name, each word hammered into him that he was 'alone', that all around him were just graves of people he knew that would never be. Their hopes, their dreams, their desires and wishes having been snuffed out.

All that remained of them… were bones, lying inside graves, buried underground with a simple plaque inscribed with their names to tell the world of who they were in life.

Gazelle also heard in his tone the sadness from each name, despite how he tried to chuckle and laugh, she could hear the hiccups that broke through, see the tears that slipped past his eyes, and most importantly feel the loneliness in his heart as it called for another like it.

His heart called for a fellow human, another like him to share space in this world, but all that remained of his species were bones, memories, their history, their technology… and 'himself'.

Nothing more…

"You miss them, don't you?" She asked knowingly.

He looked into her gentle yet sad eyes and nodded. "More than you realize." He whispered. "It feels like yesterday they were all there with me in the base… now…"

He picked up Aelita and held her close to him, the last reminder of his old life, the only other sentient entity from his species they'd left behind. Said AI was leaning against the wall of her sphere as close as she could to him, eyes closed and frowning in sadness as she tried her best to comfort him. They were both alone, a lonely human with no others like him to talk to, and a lonely AI tasked with guiding a species now doomed to extinction, but at least they had each other.

"I know your alone…" Gazelle whispered as she too embraced him. "Even after knowing you for this long I can't imagine, even 'fathom' how alone you must feel. But you still have friends Jeremy… friends who care about you, and I will always be here to help you. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on… even for a few minutes, I'll let you lean on me."

So, they stayed that way for a short while, with Jeremy taking the comfort Gazelle offered him, the companionship of someone who would share in his pain even if they didn't comprehend it. She never let him go the entire time, and they were not disturbed at all until finally Jeremy ended it releasing the hug, she had him in.

"Thank you, Gazelle." He said.

"We all need somemammal to lean on in life, nomammal endures on their own." She said warmly with a smile. "There were times when I didn't think I could endure, and I had to confide in somemammal, sometimes it was a friend at work, sometimes it was my parents… if you need to talk to anymammal, just call me and I will listen no matter the time."

With that both of he and Aelita thanked her again, as they prepared to leave though he turned once more to the grave of his father. "I'll keep trying dad, I don't know how but I'll find a way to redeem us." He said. "Oh, and before I forget… this is Gazelle, I'm her… uh… 'house guest' is it?"

"Yea, he's my house guest, and he's as good a house guest a mammal could ask for." She said warmly. "Though I could do if he'd remember to knock on the bathroom door, just to make sure I'm not in there~!"

"It was an accident that time I swear!" He said in embarrassment.

Gazelle and Aelita however giggled and laughed as they began to leave.

"I'm sorry for bringing up more somber news, especially after that just happened, but we have to stop by the hospital for a short visit. You see I promised the hospital that I'd pay a trip to see an extremely sick Fox Cub who's currently facing a fatal cancer. He's a fan of mine and, he really would love the visit to cheer him up."

"What's the cancer?" He asked.

"Something regarding his heart, a cancer that seems to have developed a tumor that's grown on his heart and has even spread a bit to his liver." She said sadly. "Poor thing, his parents can't afford the surgery, but they're still trying to find a donor to help save him, but its extremely hard because… well… nomammal really wants to donate their heart to a Fox Cub, let alone a heart 'and' a liver if his tumor gets worse…" She looked at him with a frown before continuing. "I'm going to try and cheer him up however I can, maybe give him some encouragement and strength with my visit. If it helps him get better even slightly then I'll offer whatever help I can."

"Cancer regarding the heart which develops a tumor and it spreads…" He muttered to himself as they walked.

Just before they reached the entrance where the RAPTOR 'still' stood and off to the side her backup dancers were standing, Jeremy noticed near Solar Core monument was a small lamb kneeling before the statue, hands clasped before her and head bowed. Before her was what appeared to be a picture, though he couldn't tell what it was of exactly, and some small trinkets and apparently offerings of food and bits of jewelry.

Out of curiosity he slowed Gazelle down and pointed at the lamb, signaling that he was going to talk to her quickly. She nodded in understanding and waited while he and Aelita went to investigate.

Once he was close enough, he finally could hear what she was whispering.

"Please ancient spirits I beg of you, please accept this humble offering from a devoted daughter of your flocks. I beg you to deliver my beloved before he leaves this world… please cure him of his sickness and deliver him to health… I beseech you to give him your protection and deliver him to salvation…" She whispered quietly.

To him it sounded an awful lot like 'praying', though he knew that his species at once did that, long before the final war, it was another thing to see mammals doing it. What was more interesting was why a lamb was kneeling to a statue in front of his people's graves and performing it?

"Uhm, excuse me?" He said, tapping the lamb's shoulder.

She slowly looked up from her actions and turned to look at him, her face lighting up in wonder and rapture as she beheld him.

"Oh… uh… Mr. Hu- I mean 'Jeremy'…" She whispered, quickly straightening her blouse and smoothing her fluffy wool. "H-h-how may I be of service to you uh…"

"What's your name?" He said with a smile.

"I'm… I'm… I'm Yulara… Yulara Bellfloof… just a humble accountant… nothing more!" She said with a nervous smile.

"What were you doing?" He asked politely while Aelita watched them in her sphere.

"Oh uh… I was… uhm… how do I explain this… to a living 'spirit'…" She answered nervously. "I was… 'praying'… to the spirits here…"

"Spirits?"

"Spirits… I guess that would be the best way to describe your species." She said, looking at all of the graves. "I came here to… pray to them… and hope that maybe… they'd answer my call and save my husband." She then pointed at the offerings she had placed before the statue of the Solar Core, small bundles of fruits, a few shiny coins and even a necklace, all next to a portrait of her and another lamb who looked to be male.

"You probably don't want to talk to me… after all… why would a spirit like you even… bother with a nobody like me when you could be… spending time with Gazelle over there…" She muttered 'sheepishly'.

"Why do you refer to me as a 'spirit'… my species as 'spirits'?" He asked politely as he sat next to her, placing Aelita in his lap.

After a while and noticing he wasn't leaving, she looked up at him with teary eyes and a hopeful expression. "Because you 'are' spirits!" She said. "To all Sheep and Lambs, your kind… 'humans' are known to us as spirits. We have religions based on your kind… to us you are guiding spirits, protectors of the flocks, nurses to the sick and caretakers of the poor. For years we've been looked down on by mammals because we practice something they call 'strange' and 'superstitious'… but we've always known since recorded mammal history of your kind as spirits."

She turned back to the picture and held it to him, showing the pair of lambs looking happy and smiling, apparently on their wedding night.

"I follow the Third Branch of the Main Religions, and pray to the 'Spirits of Health', and practice the lower branch of 'The Character Trait of Selflessness', and even the off-root religion of 'Fluffy Wool'." She said. "Three days ago… my husband… my darling husband whom I love, was diagnosed with black lung cancer, a result of his 'stupid' smoking addiction… idiot chose to worship the 'Spirits of Guidance' instead of my religion, but I still love him. And I came here… hoping that maybe… maybe the spirits could… would save his life!"

She looked up at him in hope, a small twinkle shining as he recognized the tone in her voice.

"Please Mr. Human, Mr. Jeremy… I know my husband and I follow different top branches of the main religions and its not uncommon for problems to arise because of that between married lambs and sheep, but if you could find it in yourself… can you please… please tell me that my husband will live… please tell me he'll survive." She cried hopefully, and before he had a moment to respond or even fully process her words, she quickly grabbed the little plates carrying her offerings and presented them to him. "I know it isn't much, but I brought some of the freshest fruits and berries… and what little valuables I myself own… in the hopes that your kind would accept them and… and… consider my humble request! Please I only want him to live… I beg you… please find it in yourself to accept my humble offering and help guide my husband from the cancer he's now battling!"

He recognized the tone, because it was the same hopeful, desperate tone he once spoke to Gazelle. She was hoping, praying, begging for a spider's thread of hope that would help pull her from the darkness she was currently in.

"Where's your husband?" He asked her softly.

"At Tender Care Hospital, they're trying to find a compatible lung donor for him…" She replied. "Please tell me he'll get better?"

He picked up Aelita as he thought about that, before looking at the small lamb. "I don't know… but if there's a way to save him… I'll make sure he gets it" He said, before walking off with Aelita back to Gazelle.

While Gazelle and her backup dancers headed to her limo, he ordered the drone to return to the base and asked Gazelle if he could join her for the trip while he and Aelita talked.

"Aelita… do you know if we still have that supply of Synthorgans." He whispered to her.

She quickly produced a holographic piece of paper and looked it over, putting on a pair of spectacles and examining the page. After a few seconds she nodded with a smile.

"Alright, and given your knowledge of them, would they work on mammals?"

She held her chin and swayed from left to right briefly before creating a picture of a human and an antelope and showing a big X between the two.

"Yes, I know, our genetics are different, and they weren't intended for mammal use, but theoretically, would they still work?" He hissed as Gazelle watched him with curiosity.

Again, Aelita swayed and thought before she shrugged, pretending to flip a holographic coin and pointing at him then herself with a shrug.

"My guess is as good as yours huh, wish I'd paid more attention to my Synthetic Organ Technology Conception and Construction lesson during Practical Medicine 403." He muttered as they turned into a drive through for a big hospital. "Gazelle, can I ask a BIG favor from you…"

Gazelle looked at him curiously before nodding. "What's your favor?"

"I need to borrow your friends and your limo, and I need us all to go to the base's East Entrance." He said. "It's important… I think I may have a way to help those mammals… I just don't want to give up anyone's hopes but… I think I can help them! Please I know it's a big request but…"

"Sure, go ahead." She replied without hesitation.

"I really need your help anwhat did you say?" He replied with a stutter.

"I said sure, go ahead." She said with a smile this time. "Jeremy, I can tell this is important and you want to help, and if you need my help to help 'others' then I'll do all I can."

"Thank you… I'll be as quick as I can."

"Just don't scratch the paint." Gazelle giggled as she stepped out and headed into the hospital.

As she closed the door Moe from the front seat turned around and asked, "Where to Jeremy?" with a smile.

Still shocked that she instantly agreed to loan her friends 'and' limo for his request, he took a moment to collect himself before declaring, "To the East Entrance to the base, uh… Rainforest District outer edges!"

"Got it!" He said as they took off.

"Well this is weird…" He muttered in the back with Aelita.

"You'll get used to it bro!" Donny chuckled as he opened a small compartment and pulled out a cold can of some soft beverage. "Want a drink?"

"Uh no thank you, I'm not thirsty…" He muttered, seeing the 'cold fumes' coming out of the can as it popped open.

Half an hour of driving later and they arrived outside the entrance, and Jeremy quickly got out and beckoned Donny, Franky, Moe and Joe to follow suit. With Aelita in hand he rushed down the dirt path dug to the East Side Entrance and saw three RAPTORs marching in formation on patrol. At his approach they trained weapons before a quick scan revealed his identity to them and they put their weapons back.

**[Unit Jeremy, welcome back… Units 'Joe'-]**

"Will you just open the door and let us in?" He ordered. "Command Code Jeremy, Pod Alpha Seven One Seven!"

Within seconds they obeyed the command and parted to let them all enter the base. Quickly he led the way into the base, down three levels toward the Medical Bay and walked past it to 'Cold Storage Room Alpha Two'.

"So, what do you need us for?" Moe asked as he put Aelita down and approached a Sterilization Chamber.

"You're about to find out…" He muttered as he turned on the console and powered up the room.

Instantly the chamber lit up in a red light, indicating it was accessible, while on the other side of the chamber a see-through door revealed a bluish room where lines of cylinders lay on specialized shelves. "Good… they're still functioning…"

Aelita signaled him and held up a 'warning' sign, before showing the temperature in the room was below fifty degrees C*.

"Yes, I know but there's no other way to get in there." He told her while grabbing a thick 'sterile suit'. "Alright, Donny, Franky, Moe, Joe… this is what I need your help with. I need to go into that room there and collect a few canisters of a technology called 'Synthorgans', and I need you to pull me out when I come back."

"And why's that…" Franky said, obviously not liking the sound of that.

"Because that room… is cold… even with this suit… I won't be able to withstand it for more than a few minutes…" He said while suiting up. "My disease… will start to trigger after a bit… and my actions will get slowed… and when that happens, I'll need you to pull me out before I die."

"Wait why can't one of us do it, or better yet send one of those machines?"

Aelita shook her head with a 'not welcomed sign', holding it over a picture of them and a drone.

"Sentinel's defenses for all valuable technology are hard wired to require a human to access, if it detects anything besides a human, it will automatically activate and send Sentinel Drones to eliminate the intruder, and if it detects a drone attempting to gain access it will electrify the floor, short-circuit the drone and deploy a Sentinel Drone to retrieve and destroy the 'rogue drone'." He responded. "I can't override, nor can Aelita, any attempt will cause the facility to lock down."

He called over Donny as he grabbed four suit cases to carry the Synthorgans and showed them how to open it.

"Once you see me come back into the chamber, Aelita will shut the door behind me to initiate the Sterilization procedure, you have to open the door and drag me out and whatever suit cases I bring with me 'before' it closes." He explained. "Alright… ready?"

"Uh, ready when you are!" Joe said.

He nodded and grabbed the suit cases, before opening the door to the chamber. Then he walked inside and heard the door hiss behind him. Through the suit's masked helmet, he saw sterilizing liquid spray throughout the room, cleansing it of any contaminants to protect the sterile and clean environment of the Cold Storage Room.

After a few minutes it ended, and he took a deep, calming breath, staring at the 'cold' air that had been lying dormant for thousands of years.

Then he walked forward… and nervously put his hand on the open command.

He breathed in deeply again…

**Bzzzzzzzt** -Whooooooooooosh-

(Gazelle's PoV)

She smiled as she finished singing a little number for the young Fox cub. He was such a cheery little cub, laughing and smiling as he sang poorly alongside his favorite idol. She knew that the poor kid was deathly sick, but this small distraction was all it took to take the boy from his hardships and put a smile and happy cheer into his voice. You wouldn't think that such a boy was so sick if you didn't see the hospital gown he wore, the little HRM to the side beeping every so often. To her he looked like any normal Fox cub gleaming and laughing as he spoke to his favorite singing idol.

And she tried all the harder because of it.

"So, miss Gazelle… can I ask you a question?" He asked her in his cute little voice.

"Of course, little one, ask away." She said with a chuckle.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" He asked.

She chuckled at that, it hasn't been the first time somemammal asked her that question and it wouldn't be the last. She was a pop idol after all, and fans and media love asking her if she had a special mammal in her heart.

"No… no I don't yet." She giggled. "Why you ask that?"

"Cause, cause my friend… at school, says he wants to grow up to be your boyfriend!" He said sweetly. "And everymammal laughed at him."

"Heheh well, that's very sweet, but I'm way too old for him." She said warmly. "When he is old enough, I'll be super old, he'll want somemammal his own age I bet."

"Well do you have a mammal you like?"

She chuckled again, he was just so sweet and innocent. "Well… between you and me… there is this 'one' mammal… I've grown a bit fond of." She muttered with a smile.

"Like a boyfriend?" He asked happily.

"No… just a friend." She said with a smile. "He's having a hard time… things have just changed big time for him and… he's been having it really rough right now. I've been helping him get over it, and I think his life is starting to improve because of it…"

"I told my friends you were really nice, some think your only like that cause your on tv!"

She smiled warmly at that. "I try to be nice to everymammal, because if I'm nice to everymammal, then they'll be nice to everymammal." She said with a giggle, before going to bop him on the nose. "Now you be a good boy and take your medicine okay, I want to see one of my biggest fans at my next concert!"

"You bet I will!" He said happily.

She smiled as she left, waving goodbye and walking out. The moment she left the room however she put on a frown as a doctor waited for her with the cub's parents. "Well I've left him in smiles, I've done everything I can for him." She whispered sadly.

"Thank you miss Gazelle, we really appreciate what you did." The cub's mother said tearfully.

"We're sorry if we interrupted your schedule or whatever you were planning to do." The cub's father said quietly.

"It's alright, I actually had no plans today, take care of him and yourselves." She said, watching as the two foxes went to see their son again before visiting hours ended. "Doctor, isn't there anything you can do for him?"

The Doctor, a jaguar looked solemnly at her notepad before shaking her head. "The tumor is just too ingrained into his vital organs for us to surgically remove 'safely', and even if we got most of the tumor out it would still cause complications for him later on…"

"And you can't find a donor still?" She asked sadly.

The Doctor shook her head. "We're trying but… finding organ donors is a hard-enough task, finding one compatible for him that his body wont reject is even harder, and finding one for a small Fox cub that meets all those criteria?" She sighed. "Better off winning the lottery six times in a row with those odds."

"Winning the lottery won't save those poor parent's boy… and money won't bring him back to life…" She muttered as she went to the lounge to wait for her friends and Jeremy's return.

While she sat, she drank some tea she brought along and began thinking of Jeremy. Aelita had texted her saying that he would be at the grave site visiting his father but had also asked her to visit him as well. While she was all for it, the way she wrote it sent a bad feeling in her heart.

{Gazelle, please make your way to the Human Memorial Site around mid-late afternoon, Jeremy is going to be paying a visit to his father to attempt to gain some semblance of guidance for his life. I apologize for this selfish request, but there is only so much an Artificial Intelligence can do to talk to a 'Living' human being to help lift their spirits.}

{Please… help him, for I cannot… please hold him, for I cannot… please warm his heart, for I cannot : ( . }

Since she had to go to the hospital at this time, she used the chance to do what Aelita asked of her and helped Jeremy out of his slight depression.

"Oh Jeremy…" She muttered softly, wishing her friend could get better.

She tried picturing herself in his shoes, the last of her species, no others like her, among mammals that were vastly different than her, none of them even remotely close to her kind. She couldn't picture it, she just couldn't, her imagination just fell short of the image no matter how hard she tried.

The one saving grace, was that he had Aelita at least, and the little AI was trying her hardest to help him.

She opened her little handbag and pulled out a small serving of ice to go with a 'make it yourself smoothie'. It was her one indulgence, these little smoothies once a week. She had to keep her figure after all, and nomammal was going to judge her here of all places in her guilty pleasure.

Just as she took the ice and was about to throw it into the cup, it slipped out of her hand and fell into the cup of hot tea. What happened next could only send chills down her spine, as the instant it made contact with the small cup of tea, the ice had caused the tiniest of cracks in the plastic container, even as it rapidly melted.

She just stared at the cup, not liking what she'd just seen.

'_I'm not a mammal who believes in those 'omens'… like sheep do…'_ She muttered to herself as her heart beat slightly faster. _'But for some reason… I have a bad feeling in my heart…'_

Drone Chapter – The Sacred Duct Tape Search Pt 3

(Fox Drone J0-42's PoV)

It stared with the other drones as they looked up inside the primary ANT Storage Chamber.

There, sitting in the massive cylinder where the ANT drones were encased, recharging and awaiting new orders while those sitting on the shelves were out performing duties, and while in the 'ANT Maintenance Room' various forms of Maintenance ANTs performed minor repairs to various items brought in by the repair ANTs… was a rolled-up item.

They couldn't scan inside the charging cylinder, nor could they enter it, nor could they command the ANTs to get it out, nor could they get Sentinel to order the ANTs to get to it.

The scanning teams were still searching the base; however, four hours ago Sentinel ordered the drones to investigate an anomaly in the ANT charging cylinder, which a FOX drone had done, reporting to them all its discovery of a 'rolled up object' lying in the cylinder.

Now that they got a good look at it, it appeared to be the last 'Roll of Duct Tape' that they were searching for.

The problem, getting to it now, as they are not authorized nor able to enter the ANT charging cylinder.

**[Confirmation that the object is 'Duct Tape'?]**

**[Unknown, scans required to confirm.]**

**[Options?]** It asked.

**[Unable to enter, access to ANT charging cylinder is denied…]**

**[Sentinel orders fulfilled, object detected… no danger to ANTs or base… unable to access.]**

**[Unit K1-44, can we contact Unit 'Aelita' for assistance?]**

**[Negative, Unit 'Aelita' is currently operating in Do Not Disturb mode…]**

**[What of Unit Jeremy?]** It asked its fellows.

**[Unit Jeremy is unavailable currently… contact establishment impossible.]**

Once again, they turned to the object sitting in the cylinder, trying to figure out how to get at it.

**[Can we command ANT units to 'collect' the item?]**

**[Negative, ANT Central Command will not accept orders outside of human authorization and Sentinel Request orders for base maintenance.]** It replied.

So, they just sat and watched as several ANTs disconnected from the charging systems, walked over the item and headed out of a small hole, and a line of ANTs walked in single file to recharge.

Because the ANT drones are using category one AI's, they could only understand the most 'simplistic' of commands, namely involving repairing and fixing various areas of the base. Even an 'Command ANT' unit, which used a category one point five AI, would not be able to understand such a complicated order of 'retrieve the object inside the charging cylinder and pull it out for us to examine'.

Which meant that they did not know if it 'was' duct tape, or something else, as until they scanned it, they only had visuals to go on.

So, they just sat there now, waiting and trying to figure out what to do until Unit Jeremy walked into the ANT Storage bay.

Drone Chapter – Ancient Predator and Modern Prey Pt 2

(Lula's PoV)

"So where are 'you' going today?"

**[This unit is returning for recharge.]** PT-173 stated as it marched along with her to a location it called the 'Solar Core'. **[Our first destination is the Solar Core, as per Unit Jeremy's orders, you are to be treated as a guest of Eden Facility 17. Therefore, this unit will show you the major operating areas available at this time.]**

"Solar Core, what's that?" She asked warmly.

**[The Solar Core is the central power source of the entire base, it provides power for everything inside of the base.]** It replied as they turned a corner.

PT-173 as the drone referred to itself had gotten of sentry duty and was going to its 'recharge station' when she asked it to show her around before she went out to go job hunting. As she was a guest in the massive base, and according to an action that Jeremy performed for 'Gazelle' and her friends, the drone was under the impression that it too was to follow the same procedure and so invited to show her the Solar Core before it recharged.

Now they walked along a hallway after descending a crazy elevator system in which she floated down several floors.

After a while they came to a large set of doors that were being guarded by two RAPTOR drones and four DOG drones, all of which readied weapons before recognizing her and putting them away.

**[Savior One… access to Solar Core is granted.]** One of the drones stated before the doors slid open, revealing a brightly lit room and a wave of heated air leaving it.

She walked inside with her drone escort and to the edge of a platform to behold…

"Its… beautiful…" She whispered in awe.

It was a glowing ball of fire, spinning constantly inside of a glass case it seemed, suspended in the room by two thick steel beams and surrounded by an endless array of panels that reflected the light over and over from the core. The warmth coming off of it made her feel like she was sunbathing outside on a very hot day, and seeing it slowly spinning hypnotized her as she beheld its wonder and glory.

Now she knew without a doubt, that the stories about humans weren't lying, they 'were' gods. Surely nothing but a god could create something that wonderful and keep it contained.

"You have a 'sun'?" She asked incredulously.

**[Negative… that is a Solar Core, one of seventy-six constructed and created by the Creator Species.]** It stated. **[According to records this is Solar Core number 070 and is the largest of the cores to be constructed 'safely' for the sole purpose of powering Eden Facility 17 and for the future purpose of powering the city of New Eden Seventia when the Cryologists awoke and began rebuilding their civilization.]**

Hearing that she looked back at the core and felt a little sad. "I guess… that plan failed didn't it?" She replied.

**[Correct.]** It stated blandly. **[When you are ready to leave, inform this unit.]**

"Why so quick to leave we just got here…" She chuckled. "What else is there to know about the core, why were so few constructed, how powerful is it, how does it power 'everything' in this place…"

**[This unit needs to recharge, the Core has one thousand six hundred and fifty-three facts regarding it, only seventy-seven total were constructed due to the fact that the 'Final War' broke out after Solar Core 060 was created, Solar Core 070 is capable of destroying everything in approximately a one hundred mile radius should it ever go 'Super Nova', Solar Core 070 powers everything in this facility by use of solar panels and additional mechanical energy production capabilities placed around the facility.]**

She just went wide eyed at that, mostly asking those questions just to get it to let them stay a bit longer, not actually expecting it to answer 'every' question in that monotone voice that all of the drones spoke in.

"Uh… okay then." She replied. "So where do you go?"

Minutes later she arrived at the 'Drone Recharge Depot' and saw that there were hundreds of slots in rows upon rows for the drones, all of them roughly the same size about three to four feet in width and extremely small. There were several drones recharging, silently sitting in their little alcoves in 'standby' mode, most of the slots were empty however PT-173 walked past every empty slot as it headed to the slots nearest the back, where several RAPTOR drones were also recharging.

**[This is where this unit recharges.]** It stated as they stopped near an alcove.

Problem was, there was a RAPTOR already sitting in its alcove, silently recharging. "Looks like somemammal's in your spot." She commented.

**[Affirmative, Unit PO-663 shares this station with this unit.]**

"Well why not use one of the others, there's plenty of spots open for you." She said, pointing at the hundreds of empty slots.

**[This is this unit's designated recharge station.]** It stated.

"So, you have to share your sleeping area or… recharge area… with another drone even when there's PLENTY of space for you all?"

**[Affirmative.]**

"Doesn't that seem stupid to you?"

**[Negative.]**

"Why, you can literally take that spot next door and recharge…" She said, pointing at the empty alcove. "And nomammal would bat an eye."

**[Negative, this is this unit's dedicated recharge station.]** It replied. **[This unit shares this recharge station with three other units, as assigned by Sentinel.]**

"Starting to want to talk to this Sentinel of yours and complain about your living conditions…" She muttered as the drone in the alcove turned on and began to march out.

As it did the tail slowly snapped into place and it marched out without looking at either of them. Once it had cleared the alcove PT-173 turned around, opened its tail up and backed up into the alcove, where it slid perfectly into position just like the other drone.

"Just out of curiosity, how long do you sleep?"

**[This unit recharges over the course of seventeen hours every twenty hours unless directed otherwise by Sentinel or Unit Jeremy.]**

"Well at least you have a good sleeping schedule." She chuckled. "Pleasant dreams I guess?"

**[This unit does not dream.] **It stated before its eyes shut off and became motionless.

"Don't know manners either it seems." She muttered as she walked out.

Drone Chapter – Bottled ANT

*Jeremy's Personal Log 247*

*ANTs never cease to surprise me by where they end up when performing their tasks. As I recently discovered this morning when going to issue orders to the ANTs in their command room, they tend to wander in weird, unorthodox paths as, despite having clearly designated pathways, occasionally an ANT will go somewhere it wasn't meant to if left to its own devices.*

*I think I need to update their control center's pathway logic circuits, it has been a while since it's gotten a good debugging session.*

(ANT 02215's PoV)

It marched in line with its division, after completing the task set to them and now was going to recharge.

Yet, once it reached a fork in the path, their Command ANT turned another pathway due to detecting a strange blockage in the designated pathway. Soon the entire division turned and marched in file.

They passed into one of the 'living quarters' and marched single file along the wall.

Then at some point it stepped on a strange 'non-metallic' substance and slipped and fell.

Down it went, unable to determine its trajectory based on Command's signal, and fell into a gaping void, before it landed and fell onto yet another non-metallic substance.

Quickly it self-righted and received new bearings and began to correct its course direction to regroup with the division.

That was when it realized that its legs were slipping, and recalibrated and sent signals to its Command ANT of the division of the strange slippery, gooey substance it was stuck in. Every time it tried to move its legs would find nothing metallic to stick to, and so slid around and spun in circles.

It eventually hit a hard surface, and tried to climb it, but its legs were unable to get a solid grip and so failed to go anywhere.

Frantically it tried to send a distress signal, indicating that it needed assistance and soon Central Command responded. Within ten minutes five divisions of ANTs had arrived and were examining the prison it was in. Once the dimensions had been learned, and the materials examined, the ANTs began to use their collective bodies to create a tower of ANTs, and slowly hit the upper edges of the object.

Then they began to form a ladder, again using their own bodies to lower into the object until at last it could reach up and climb out.

From there they all climbed out of the object, and in unison returned to ANT storage for recharge.

(Lula's PoV)

"Ah… those showers are AMAZING!" She moaned. "I never knew how soothing 'or' clean I'd feel from just sound hitting my body; human's technology is so wonderful! I must ask Jeremy how they made 'Sonic Showers' a thing! I thought that was just science fiction!"

That was when she spotted all of the ANT drones climbing up the wall and towards the ceiling, out the room via a small hole, all the while walking away from her bottle of soda that she'd left on the table.

"What was going on in here?" She muttered.


	16. Chapter 16

_Life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible~_

_It's never easy when so much, is on the line~_

_But you can make a difference, with courage you can set things right~_

_But give to dream and make dreams real, it's yours and mine~_

Chapter 16) Jeremy's Gift, Ema

It was a very slow morning as the hospital went about its routines, especially as the extremely tired secretary running the front desk sped-rushed a pair of foxes in to visit their son being treated for a heart cancer which has developed a tumor.

"Don't worry honey, you'll see, everything will turn out alright!" The husband said to his very nervous wife.

"But they can't find a donor, and even if they did… how are we going to afford it?" She said nervously.

"We'll think of something, I'll work three jobs if I have to, I'll sell some stuff online!" He said, but he too was worried. "Point is to not give up hope, at least he's alive for now!"

Alive for now, but for how long, an adult couldn't survive his cancer condition for too long, and he was only seven years old. They were just lucky that Gazelle listened to his wish and visited, making the young boy smile and ask if he can go to Gazelle's concert the next time she has one. They had smiled and said sure they would get tickets, but when was 'that' going to happen?

"Ya, your right, we'll think of something…" She muttered back, trying to reassure herself.

They climbed the stairs and to his ward, walking down the hallway toward the 'small mammal' section and opened the door, only to find the room was empty of their son.

"Did they move him to another room?" Her husband asked as he looked for a nurse or a doctor.

"I didn't get a call, did you?"

Moments later a sheep nurse walked in with a clipboard in hand and looked at them in confusion. "Uh, I'm sorry… who are you two and are you waiting for somemammal?"

"We're Mr. and Mrs. Vulps, and we're visiting our son Jeffery Vulps… did they move him to another room?" The father asked quickly.

"Oh… oh… Jeffery Vulps…" The nurse said in surprise before looking at her clipboard. "I am so sorry… that nomammal called you… you should have been called immediately… I'm sorry but he's no longer in this ward…"

"What do you mean?!" The mother asked terrified, fearing the worst.

"I'm so sorry this had to happen, especially since it happened just hours ago… somemammal I think Doctor Litter should have phoned you when it happened…" The sheep said looking very apologetic.

"What happened to him…" The father said almost screaming in fear.

"He's been moved to the Recovery Ward after the surgery took place…" The sheep said with a sad smile. "I am so sorry nomammal called you, we should have notified you the moment it was going on, on behalf of the entire hospital staff I am so sorry."

"R-recovery ward?" The mother asked in confusion. "B-b-but a donor… you said… I mean… who?"

"Oh… yea… last night we found a new heart for him." The sheep said with a more cheerful smile now. "Thank the spirits, it arrived early last night, just a few hours after visiting hours ended and he was in surgery for only a few hours, he's now in recovery."

"He's alright?" The father asked incredulously.

"Yes… he's doing just fine…" The sheep said, pulling out a paper and checking it. "He's in Recover Ward 'B', I think you'll find Doctor Litter just checking him over now. I'll take you to him!"

With that she quickly skittered off with the two foxes behind, taking an elevator up a level and down past a sign that said 'Recovery Ward B', past three more rooms and to a room where a Tiger in a Doctor's uniform was just coming out. Outside a Lamb looked tired as she stood waiting to get inside as well.

"Doctor Litter, the Vulps are here to see their son." The nurse said.

"Ah, thank you… would you three please come with me… uh Nurse can you fetch a blanket for young Vulps and Mr. Bellfloof?" He asked.

"Of course, doctor!" She replied before skittering off.

"But what about our son?" The father asked.

"Please… Mr. Vulps, your son is asleep for now, let him rest a bit, his body has 'just' been through a massive ordeal and it needs a moment to rest, you can visit him shortly." The doctor said calmly. "For now, I need to explain a few things to you all before any other mammal finds out. Please, come with me."

After a brief hesitation all three followed the doctor to his office down the hall, and stepped inside, sitting down in the chairs before hid desk as he tiredly slid into his own chair. "Oh, it's been a long night…" He moaned as he offered them all some coffee. "Now, where to begin."

The first thing he did was pull out both patient's files and show them to them, one showing their son with his heart condition and scans of it, while the other featured a male lamb, probably the husband of the lamb they were sitting with and 'his' lung condition.

"As you both know we have been trying to find donor organs for these patients and were having very little luck finding compatible donors." He said calmly. "However, that all changed last night about two hours after Visiting Hours ended. A pair of Tiger Brothers walked in demanding to see a doctor, and I just so happened to have showed up at that time and heard them out. In their hands they had four suit cases, each containing organs…"

"Organs for mammals?" The sheep asked nervously.

"No… organs for 'humans' Mrs. Bellfloof." He said as he reached down and pulled a large suitcase out and opened it, letting out a small mist of cold air, and a blue glow lighting his face momentarily before closing it.

In his hands was a large glass cylinder, capped on either end with thick steel caps with one end having a soft thin plate on it. Inside the cylinder was what looked like a white/blue 'heart', sitting inside the cold bluish liquid it resided in. It appeared to look 'metallic' to their eyes, yet it had a 'flesh' appearance as well, with parts of it lighting blue every few minutes and strange 'white veins' running along it.

They stared in awe at it, as it simply sat before them.

"What is it?" Bellfloof asked quietly.

"It's a heart… a 'synthetic heart', or as its more commonly referred to… as a Synthorgan." He explained as he opened the case and put it back in gently before pulling out another cylinder and showing a broken one with the liquid drained. "It's short for 'Synthetic Organ', and these four cases filled with them arrived last night for us. With them was a note on what they were, how they were used, what they were made of, everything…"

"They are made of some kind of 'fluid like metal', yet also a strange organic substance that we cannot understand." He explained, pulling the organ out and holding it out for them. "Go ahead, feel it, it's amazing what they are!"

So, they felt it, and they were amazed as it was extremely soft, almost like tissue soft, but it was also solid and felt like extremely thin metal

"What's it made of?"

"The little note indicated that it was made of some kind of Bio-mechanical Polymer, which incorporates both metallic elements to make it highly resistant and sturdy, yet also biological tissue to mimic the unique organ and give it that 'soft-flesh' feel and appearance. It's incredibly advanced, way more advanced than 'anything' I've ever seen in my whole life as a doctor. But the most amazing thing about them is what they 'do' and how they work… the instructions told us to simply expose them to a single 'drop' of blood. And let them warm up until the cooling liquid changes to the color of the patient's blood, and after that… begin surgery to replace the damaged organ with these 'Synthorgans'. Once they receive the blood sample the Synthorgans change and mimic the blood type to match it, and use the sample to exactly match the organ being replaced…" He explained in an excited tone. "It also explained what these transplants would do after being given to the patients. Once we finished the surgery, these Synthorgans released 'micromachines' into their blood-streams, where they began to purge the host's body of any foreign substance that doesn't belong..."

"Hold on doctor I am so lost… what do you mean?" The father asked.

"Alright… in short these things become an exact copy of the patient's organ… down to the smallest detail." He said while putting it back in the suitcase. "Then after it is attached and we sew up the patient, they 'clean' the body of anything that doesn't belong. Any disease, eradicated, any cancer cell, wiped out, even things that we didn't even know about is killed off."

He reached to the patients' files and pulled out some scans labeled 'pre-surgery' and 'post-surgery'. "This is before… and this was after…"

They looked and saw the damaged organs, a blackened lung with blackened blood veins for the sheep among other issues, and a bulged and rotten heart for the fox with a slight bit of lump of rot on his liver. Then next to them showed everything perfectly clean, with not a speck of dirt to be seen.

"We not only found every cancer cell completely gone, but we even noticed that we had missed something 'before' the surgery in your son Mr. and Mrs. Vulps. We found a parasite in his lower digestive system in some scans indicated here…" The doctor said, pointing at the picture. "But these Synthorgans… they completely eradicated and eliminated it… look, not even a tiny speck of it remains!"

Indeed, he was telling the truth, the picture showed a parasite, like an elongated 'worm' linked together by segmented plates just curled up and sitting in their son's body that they didn't even notice. Yet where it should be, was a perfectly clear and clean lower digestive track.

"How… who gave you these?" Mrs. Bellfloof asked incredulously.

The doctor smiled and pulled out a file, on it showed the picture of Jeremy Wilheart, the human on the news regarding the 'dangerous machines' which protected and served him. "Jeremy did, he went into his base and pulled these 'marvelous' creations of his species out and gave them to us so we could cure your son and husband. And he told us to not charge you a 'penny' for the surgery, he covered it by donating these Synthorgans to us to use for anymore cancer victims we may or may not have in the future." He said. "His species… they have almost 'magical' technology… these… wonders… they can cure 'anything'… and I mean it… he said that the micromachines built into them locate any foreign substance that doesn't belong in the Synthorgan's new body by using the blood-type they were exposed to, and self-destruct, dissolving down anything they're attached to after half an hour, leaving the body completely clean and healthy. This is the stuff of… fiction and… wonder."

He smiled to both as he put the files away. "They're completely healthy, its like the cancers never even existed to them. The Synthorgans went in without any problems, it's like they were 'made' for them… there is no rejection from their bodies, like they've been with them their whole lives!"

Mrs. Bellfloof began crying, holding her eyes as she bawled to herself, alongside Mrs. Vulps who was being comforted by her husband while both males were confused.

"Mrs. Bellfloff, Mrs. Vulps, what's wrong? I thought you'd be happy knowing…"

"I am…" The lamb said with a teary smile. "It's just… I knew… I just 'knew'… that the spirits would save my husband. I prayed and they responded!"

She pulled the file on Jeremy and held it close to her, wrinkling the paper as she did.

"Thank you, Jeremy… thank you spirits…" She whispered happily.

"Doctor… do you know where Jeremy is?" The fox couple asked. "I think we'd all like to thank him for what he did…"

At that he frowned as he shook his head. "You see, he's not here, he's at another hospital being treated for his own disease." He replied. "Jeremy suffers from a disease called 'Cryogenetic Sclerosis, it's not contagious but it has no cure… not even for his species. He risked his own life to get us these few cases of his species' technology and it nearly killed him. His body almost froze to death before it reached the hospital."

At that they looked at his file and read the doctor's notes regarding his disease. He had nearly 'died' trying to retrieve the samples of Synthorgans he'd gotten out, his body freezing and his heart stopping for a full ten minutes before it 'eventually' began to beat again thanks to Paramedics efforts. Even then it was a fight to keep him alive as the cold still afflicting his body was countering their every effort to warm him up for hours.

"Thank you… Jeremy…" Mrs. Vulps whispered as she looked at the human, not seeing him as a 'potential threat to mammals' as the media described him as, but as a saint for not only saving her baby and risking his life to do so… but also doing it and giving her son a new life for 'free'.

For a mammal who's name he didn't even know.

"Thank you… so much!"

(Jeremy's PoV, 3 days later)

"Jeremy, you may be an endangered species, and this essentially gives you 'free medical care' and special treatment regarding the law… but you can't keep landing yourself in the hospital." Mayor Lioness said as she sat before her desk, holding her head in her paw. "Seriously… do you 'have' to keep risking your life constantly, I am facing a ton of opposition and criticism and public figures are even demanding my resignation because I apparently… 'refuse'… to see you as a potential threat to the public."

She looked up at him, Gazelle and Aelita as they sat in her office, Aelita with Jeremy because she is always with him and Gazelle because she has not left his side since he was finally released from the hospital.

"In my defense mayor I was trying to save some mammal's lives." He said sheepishly. "I can't just let them suffer when I 'have' the ability to help them."

He looked up at her expression and took a calming breath.

"The technology is just sitting there doing nobody any good, it was meant to keep my species safe from future problems but as I am alone it's serving no purpose down there, locked up waiting for humans that will never access them. I may have risked my life but I'm going to die eventually anyway Mayor, I'd rather risk my life doing something 'good' for mammals then just let my species fade away to history while hiding away."

The mayor sighed as she looked at a report. "Normally I'd disagree, but from what I'm reading here I can't refute your claims." She said. "Not only have the Synthorgans you brought with you saved the lives of two mammals the night you were admitted, but three more organs have been used to help save 'more' lives from cancer cases. In each case their bodies were cured of any illnesses, Doctors are begging to know where these 'miracles of science' came from, and its becoming harder and harder to keep the public in the dark."

"Mayor why are you keeping it quiet." Gazelle asked in surprise. "What Jeremy did is a miracle, he's brought a wonderful piece of technology from his species to us, he's saving lives thanks to his near sacrifice, this should be all over the news!"

"I would, but if I remember, Jeremy nearly 'died' to bring them to us… and if people find out that he has this technology mammals are going to want him to get 'more' of it, and that means risking his life 'again'." She stated while looking at them. "And if I recall, this little venture nearly killed you this time for good, your heart shut down for ten minutes, ten full minutes before we managed to get it beating, and even then it took the hospital team everything it had to keep it warm enough to keep beating until your overall body temperature rose again."

Both him and Aelita shrunk in their seats, she had them dead to rights. Jeremy had 'barely' managed to grab four full cases of the Synthorgans, breaking one canister because his Cryogenetic Sclerosis had shut down his limbs. Then he'd barely crawled to the door, signaled Aelita to open it, crawled out to be rescued by Gazelle's backup dancers, before finally his body lost the fight and shut down.

He remembered seeing Gazelle's face when he finally woke up, watching him while he slept because she refused, absolutely refused to leave his side until he woke up. She'd even refused to eat and only went to go to the bathroom, effectively remaining by his side for the full two days he was in the hospital. Once again, he was more unhappy with himself, for causing her worry thanks to his actions then he was scared for nearly dying.

It wasn't an experience he wanted to relive either, but at least his attempt had extracted over a hundred samples of the Synthorgan Technology, one hundred and one if you counted the destroyed sample he broke when his hands finally shut down from the cold.

"Point is I will not permit him to risk his life again, even if the cause is noble, I don't want to be known as the Mayor who let a species go extinct on her watch!" She stated coldly. "So, I will say this again Jeremy, do 'not' risk your life for the sake of a mammal!"

There was silence before Aelita shined a light on him to get his attention. She then turned into a Spider, turned into a vial, and then returned to normal with a knowing smile.

"What if I could help mammals without risking my life?" He said suddenly.

She sighed and leaned back, holding her tired eyes with one hand. "Alright, I'm all ears Jeremy." She said exhaustedly.

"What if I give you the cures and vaccines to all mammal kind's most dangerous diseases and cancers?" He asked.

At that the Mayor's head snapped up and looked at him with eyes wide open and face open in shock. "W… what?"

"My base has access to the largest collection of Vaccines and Cures to nearly every known cancer and virus, pathogen and disease known to man during my time." He stated calmly and clearly so she understood what he was offering. "It also contains a library of every aforementioned cancer, virus, pathogen and disease that we have collected and cultivated in safety to study in case of future diseases and cancers were discovered that we didn't have a vaccine or cure for at the time. We also have access to another powerful, more 'readily available' piece of medical technology that I am more than willing to give to you to study and use."

The Mayor and Gazelle stared at Jeremy in amazement, with the Mayor completely baffled at the offer he was giving her.

"But… there are 'hundreds' of species of mammals in Zootopia alone…" She muttered. "There are even more around the world… you cannot possibly have cures and vaccines for 'all' of them. You said so yourself, they were meant for 'humans'."

He and Aelita nodded in understanding, knowing what she was talking about. The stockpile of vaccines and cures would be useless for mammals because their genetics are too different. Jeremy also could not hope to understand and develop a cure and vaccine for every species of mammal even if he had a hundred years, because there were just too many to develop for and he lacked the full understanding of their biology to compensate. He was only one human, he could not hope to perform such a feat in his life time. But he just realized that, like before, he'd forgotten a very important piece of technology that was lying dormant in the base.

"That is true, but Aelita and I have another piece of technology to give you access to that can solve that problem." He said proudly. "If I'm correct, it can do something even Aelita, with all her knowledge, cannot do for me or you. And that is 'create' the vaccines and cures to your diseases and cancers…"

The Mayor stared at him in amazement, before glancing at her desk to a picture of some mammal that he couldn't see but guessed what someone she cared about.

"Jeremy, will it really work?" Gazelle asked him hopefully.

He turned to the antelope and saw the expression of hope in her eyes. "I had a relative… a grandmother… die from Type T Rabies. Can you really cure it?"

He nodded, Rabies was a disease they had to deal with as well, and while it seemed to have developed more severely for the mammals compared to what it was during his time, he was confident that the drone would be more than capable of curing it.

"It will cure it Gazelle, no doubt about it." He replied.

"I… had a sister…" The Mayor muttered, causing them to look at her holding a picture close to her and looking at it. "She was diagnosed with Type 'S' Rabies, they had no choice but to… 'put her down'… just to put her out of her misery. Please… tell me you can cure that Jeremy."

"All we need is a sample, and maybe a sample of a mammal species' blood to help develop a cure and vaccine for, and I can assure that what is still stored in the base 'will' cure it."

The Mayor looked up at him with a look of hope on her face, before returning to the picture on her desk. Her face looked conflicted, like she didn't want to believe what he was offering her, but at the same time she didn't want to reject his offer 'because' she couldn't believe it. Then she reached over to her phone and hit a button.

[Yes, Mayor Lioness?] A voice called up.

"Cancel all of my appointments and plans for the rest of the day, I have things I need to do." She stated before picking up another phone and dialing something. "Jeremy, I'll have an ambulance arrive at the usual base entrance, I'll meet you there with Gazelle."

"Thank you, Miss Mayor." He said gratefully.

He and Gazelle got up and were just getting ready to leave before Lioness called him again.

"Jeremy!" She called, causing him to turn around. "Jeremy… if this works… I'll take back 'every' bad thing I've ever thought about you and… I will help you with anything you may have in the future!"

He smiled back with Aelita who chuckled in his hands. "You don't need to give me anything Mayor…" He replied warmly, before walking out.

Minutes later he entered Gazelle's limo and they slowly made their way to the base's West Entrance.

"Jeremy…" Gazelle whispered quietly to him.

"Yea?" He said, looking into her eyes and seeing her slightly tired and hopeful expression.

"Be honest with me… can you really… really… 'really'… do what you said?" She asked. "If you do this, there will not be a single mammal in all of Zootopia… in all of the world, who will 'not' call you a saint or a hero for what you're doing…"

"Gazelle I would never lie to you." He muttered back, putting Aelita down and gently picking up her hand with his own. "I promise you Gazelle, I 'will' do what I said."

"I'm sorry I am asking, I know you mean what your saying… its just…" She whispered looking a little guilty with herself. "It's just… cancers and diseases are just… such a common thing in our world that the thought of them being… 'gone'… just being there one day and being 'gone' the next almost overnight is… impossible to believe."

"Before I was born it was the same for me… however much like with other things… our technology evolved rapidly to deal with it. By the time 'I' was born the only cancers or diseases that we couldn't cure were the extremely resilient or stubborn ones, which we developed the Synthorgans to deal with, it was extreme, but it was our solution to them." He explained. "I highly doubt they'll be cured overnight, that's almost impossible… but sooner than you'll realize the threat of cancer and disease will be just a distant memory."

Aelita looked between the two of them before Gazelle picked up his other hand and placed it on top of her first, while placing her second hand atop his. Then she smiled warmly at him and nodded.

"I trust you Jeremy… if you say it will happen then it will happen."

He nodded as the limo turned down a road and they returned to looking forward and waiting to arrive at their destination, though Gazelle inched closer to lean against him, holding his hand while Aelita's holosphere sat in his lap.

Half an hour later they reached their destination, and Jeremy got out with Gazelle, Aelita, Joe, Donny, Moe and Franky. They entered the base entrance and began to make their way down as usual.

At the entrance they were greeted by the trio of RAPTOR drones that were on guard at the time, and soon they walked inside, though not before Jeremy informed them to expect a group of mammals with Mayor Lioness and ordering them to escort them to Medical Bay Alpha. In they went with the drones going about their business as always, mostly ignoring Gazelle and her friends but making sure to greet him or acknowledge him.

They went down four levels from the command center's level, and headed toward Medical Bay Alpha, the largest and only medical center in the base.

"Here we are… Medical Bay Alpha…" He said to them all.

The medical bay was 'vast', nearly a hundred meters from end to end in a perfect square, and roughly ten meters tall. On the ceiling were various rails and special blue lights that gave a cool and calming glow throughout the room. On the floor were over three hundred specialized beds designed to comfort, contain, or provide care for the many patients that may be lying there. Within each bed were special compartments containing powerful medical tools and first aid treatment kits for any potential emergency that may arise. Along the far wall opposite the door were glass-silicon cases containing various medical texts and vials of medicine, and inside stronger cases were jars of various liquids and chemicals that might be needed during medical operations and treatment. In the center of the room stood a strange tower with tubes running up it and into the ceiling, with specialized tiers to contain or hold 'something' cylindrical and small.

"Still as big as I remember it." He muttered as he walked forward while Gazelle and her friends began lingering around.

"These beds are comfy…" Gazelle muttered as she sat on one.

"Roomy too." Donny muttered as he lay down on one.

"Yea this is a nice place to kick it!" Moe chuckled as he lay on one and pretended to relax.

**[Commencing Bio Scan]** A voice called out.

Suddenly they all got a surprise as both Donny and Moe were instantly scanned before they could jump off, and when they finished the voice called out again, **[No hostile diseases detected…]**

"They're bio-beds, don't worry." He called out as he headed to a panel. "The beds are designed to detect a patient's body for any diseases in its database and recommend a course of treatment depending on severity. If it's something that either the patient or even the bed can handle, it extracts the necessary tools and gives them to the patient or alerts a medical staff that's on duty if it's more serious."

"That's amazing!" Gazelle said.

"Certainly beats a trip to the doctor!" Franky called out as they all joined him at the control panel.

"Alright let's see if it's here and still working." He muttered as he put Aelita on a bed and began punching in some commands.

**[Attention Jeremy, the group of mammals you were expecting has arrived. They have brought what appear to be samples of various diseases and blood samples. Medical Protocol dictates that any such diseases be properly escorted in under watch in containment units…]** A Drone's voice declared over the base intercom.

"Under current situation all medical protocols are suspended, let them in at once and guide them to Medical Bay Alpha." He replied to the drone's request.

**[Human Override protocol implemented, access is granted…]**

He nodded and returned to the panel.

"Alright… let's see where is that command prompt." He muttered while entering commands again. "Ah… here we go!"

He entered in the command and called up the B.W.S Drone and requested power be transferred to it and it activated. In moments he heard the rumble of power being transferred and machinery being turned after an age of inactivity. Then all of the lights turned off with exception to a single red glow from behind them which drew their attention. A hole appeared in the ceiling and a metallic 'egg' not unlike Jeremy's Cryopod lowered down into the room.

It rumbled and cracked, shaking and shivering as it emerged from the ceiling, still connected to it via some wires. Moments later another segment of ceiling lowered and filled the hole, leaving another rail which the 'black egg' was connected to. Then the egg began to crack and groan before beginning to split open and reveal the form of the metallic mass, which showed off eight thin and long segmented legs, enabling it to stand to a tall eleven feet in height. Then came the body which was comprised of a massive oval abdomen which seemed to have been made up of multiple spheres with tiny plexiglass windows revealing different colored liquids and an empty chamber all stuck together to create the whole. It had an extremely small metal sphere segment which connected to the ceiling via a series of wires attached to it. Finally, a much smaller rounded-square shaped object which had eight small optics glowing 'pink' as it looked upon him and the mammals. Along it's face and underneath were four small cylindrical attachments that were hollow and had needles attached to them, ranging from an extremely long and thick needle of seven inches, to a tiny thin needle only half an inch long.

At it's sight Donny actually fainted which required Franky and Moe to catch him, while Gazelle slowly backed up behind Jeremy.

It stared at them before stepping forward, each of its eight legs 'clanking' in the subtle light and clicking and clacketing its mouth. He however simply watched it steadily approach him, not fearing it all, though he was going to fear what it would ask him to do.

Once it reached them it retracted its legs closer to its body so it could look at him eye to optic.

Then it 'spoke' to him…

**[Jeremy Wilheart…]** It stated dully in a cynical feminine tone. **[How… unsightly you are… waking 'me' up after all this time.]**

"That's me Ema…" He replied. "Sorry I'm late."

It stared back and leaned forward as if to bite him. **[Well… let's get this over with…]** She replied before backing up and tapping a button on the panel, activating the lights again bathing the room in cool, calm blue light. **[You're late for your medical fitness checkup according to my calculations by three hundred and fifty thousand five hundred and seventy-nine years since you were put into cryostasis. And according to my medical database you are also late for your standard physical 'WHICH' may 'I' remind you… is required by base medical protocol six two seven for ALL residents of Eden Facility Seventeen AS stated by the United Earth Medical Institution… to be taken EVERY WEEK!]**

They all just watched as it walked over to one of the bio-beds, open it up with a tap of one leg, before pulling out various medical tools. "Actually, Ema that's not why I woke you up." He said.

**[Whatever minor complaints you may be experiencing from your Cryosleep can be dealt with after your physical and fitness test, now get over here, knowing how long it took you to wake me up the others will probably be storming in here soon for their examination because Doctor Liona isn't here else you wouldn't have activated me!]** She declared while adjusting the bed tapping the ceiling with her legs, pulling various equipment down that was stored in them.

"Ema… there aren't any other humans…" He declared.

At that the drone stopped and looked to him. **[Repeat that statement…]**

"I'm the only human… alive… on the entire planet." He replied quietly, moving over to grab Aelita and walk toward the drone. "The other Facilities failed… only one Cryopod was found functioning… I'm alone, there are no other humans."

Aelita nodded in agreement, before extending her hand and creating a holographic display of seventeen 'signals' in which only 'one' was operating.

Ema looked between him and Aelita before turning to the ceiling. **[This is Ema, Drone Identification, Black Widow Spider Medical Class Drone identification name Ema 'Alpha' to the operating Sentinel AI. Request authentication of signal loss of B.W.S Medical Class Drones Ema Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi, and Rho!]**

**[Sentinel Signal Verification in progress…]** Sentinel responded. **[Signal Verification Ema Beta… lost. Signal Verification Ema Gamma… Lost.]**

Sentinel continued to repeat the same message for each of the signals until finally… **[Signal Verification Ema Rho… lost.]**

With the last one confirmed Ema looked at him before examining all of the empty Bio-Beds. **[Well… I guess we can take our time with your examination.]** She stated. **[So… since I'm not expecting company… what's with the animals?]**

"Uhm, we prefer to call ourselves 'Mammals'." Gazelle said.

Ema looked at Gazelle before six of her Optics changed color from pink to blue, green, orange, yellow, purple and white and began scanning Gazelle and her friends. **[Increased brain matter, bipedal skeletal structure from a previously quadruped design, increased vocal chords for higher speech functions, posable finger joints, a more complex blood vein distribution…]** She declared as she finished scanning. **[My guess… your intelligent… just what this base needed, intelligent 'animals'… oh I'm going to need to arrange some ANTs to screen this room for fur filaments on top of hair filaments. Just when I thought I had enough problems…]**

Ema turned to Jeremy and beckoned him to sit on the bio-bed next to her, which he did.

**[So, what does the last of the creator species need of this humble drone servant?]**

"Your different than the other drones. You say 'me' and 'I' instead of 'this unit'." Gazelle said as she walked over with her friends, with Donny now conscious again.

"Ema, or Emergency Medical Augmenter, uses a category four AI, her AI uses a personality based on humans to allow her to interact with people more easily." Jeremy explained to her.

**[And had it not been for the reclassification of AI's, expanding the definition and category number from the '5' it had been, to the '10' it is now… I would have been the second most advanced AI constructed.]** Ema stated almost bitterly. **[But now… that honor belongs to Category '9' AIs… and Aelita being of Category 10 is the highest intelligence.]**

Aelita giggled sheepishly in her holosphere, trying hard not to insult the spider drone's AI any more than she was by simply existing.

"I'm sorry for the sudden power up this late Ema, but there is something I would like you to help with." He said, getting the drone's attention. "As you figured, yes, mammals are intelligent in this day and age… having replaced humans as the dominant species. I need your help with something very important that only 'you' can achieve."

**[If your asking me to make you immortal you know full well that at best, I can keep you alive for a lifetime total of one hundred and ninety years.]** She replied. **[And that's doing 'everything' I say… which you won't.]**

"I'm not asking for that…" He said as the door opened and in walked a group of mammals led by Mayor Lioness, a few medical staff from the hospital he was admitted to, and several small vials of various fluids. "What I'm asking you for is to help 'them'."

She looked over at the new guests with her optics before returning to him. **[Your asking me to 'help' animals…]** She stated.

"Yes, I am Ema, this is Mayor Lioness, mayor of Zootopia." He said, introducing the Lioness as she walked over with her fellows who were looking at all of the empty beds with fascination.

"Mayor Lioness, pleasure to meet you." She said offering a hand.

Ema looked at it then at the mayor before lifting a single leg and allowing her to grip it and 'shake' it in greeting. **[I am Ema Alpha, B.W.S. Class Medical Drone.]** She responded. **[Why are you here in my medical bay?]**

"We came at Jeremy's request, and we've brought a few…" She began explaining before the drone stepped over her to the various vials of liquid.

**[Bio samples ranging from blood samples of various species and two forms of what appear to be 'Cancer' cells based on my current records and preliminary scans.]** She stated simply, taking the tray and putting it on a bio-bed. **[Jeremy… you want me to 'cure' these I take it?]**

"Yes Ema, I cannot cure them or treat them or even provide vaccines to deal with all of their medical problems… there are just too many species of mammals to treat, and there is no way even if I lived to be a hundred and ninety… that I could do it. But I know you can…" He replied.

**[Providing care and treatment to humans is my specialty, I can treat a human for ninety seven percent of illnesses and cancers ranging from the humble 'Common Cold' to the deadliest form of 'Lung Cancer'. But treating mammals… is not in my description.]** She stated simply. **[You are asking me to perform a miracle… I do not even have their biological database, nor do I have full access to the facility's sensors, I am a 'medical augmenter', not a miracle worker.]**

"But you can 'still' cure them, you can still analyze and treat, produce vaccines and cures… that's what your built for." He replied.

"Please…" Mayor Lioness said, getting Ema's attention and holding a picture of a young cub to her. "My little sister died… from Rabies when I was younger… they couldn't cure it… and they had to put her down… I was promised that it could be cured… there are 'thousands' of mammals every day that suffer it…"

Ema simply looked at the picture, before tentatively taking it from the mayor with one leg to look closely at it.

**[Rabies… you say…]** She stated, still staring at the picture.

She returned the picture before looking at Jeremy again, before turning away and taking the tray of vials with her.

(Gazelle's PoV)

**[Sentinel, request access to disease storage… requesting six samples of Subject R-442-01 to R-521-09. Authorization Ema B.W.S Alpha.]**

**[Request granted…]**

She watched the giant spider march on its eight legs to the center of the room where the tower stood. Moments later six small cylinders of a yellowish substance slid down the tubes to rest in various slots, which were instantly picked up by Ema's forward most legs. She then consumed all six fluids through the needles of her mouth, and from there the liquid made its way into an empty chamber on her big rear end.

Ema then took one of the samples of cancer and injected it into herself.

**[Hmm… interesting, it seems to have developed a stronger membrane than our samples have… but this sample still carries some of the same base genetic patterns we have in our storage.]** Ema stated while standing on four legs and using the other four to scan the other test tubes.

As she watched, fascinated by what the spider was doing, various tubes extended from the bulging rear end and attached to the empty chamber and began pumping different colored liquids, even as the yellowish liquid previously inside was pumped out.

**[Oh my, based on this scan you are a persistent one, aren't you? Well let's see how you handle this treatment…]**

Within seconds the fluid was drained from her mouth and into the chamber and began to slosh around. Then more tubes extended and began to pump out the liquid into small injection syringes.

**[You're a tricky one… but… a little splicing here… a pinch of that there… one dose of this here… alter the genetic dosage… an analysis here and there… aaaaaand…]**

The large bulging 'thing' began to shake a bit… before a single canister emerged and filled up with a neon-bluish liquid.

**[General Vaccine completed…]** She stated. **[Now to test its effectiveness…]**

She grabbed the samples of blood and ingested them one by one, creating six test tubes on her back and filling them with a bluish liquid. "That vial contains a sample of my sister's blood that was stored in the hospital… from when she was healthy." Mayor Lioness whispered. "I never had it used because… I don't know…"

**[Species Panthera Leo… Rabies Sample Mammal 1… Status: uninfected… General Vaccine is now incorporated into subject blood sample's genetic structure… preparing Cancer introduction to gauge effectiveness.]**

Several drops of yellow liquid entered the first test tube where it sat for several minutes while they waited.

**[Sample is now being infected with Rabies Sample Mammal 1… Vaccine has been incorporated into test subject's genetic database… genetic defenses are currently operating normally…]** Ema declared. **[Subject infection rate has halted at three point seven percent… anti-virus defenses have begun absorbing and removing cancer infected cells… test subject infection rate reducing to two point one percent… one point five percent… zero point nine percent…]**

She watched with bated breath, less so than compared to the mayor who actually stepped closer, her hands clasped in hope as the sample of her sister's blood fought off the disease that took her life, praying that the human technology would do as he promised, and rid the world of the threat of the disease.

**[Subject status… zero infected cancer cells remaining.]** Ema declared. **[Species Panthera Leo no longer threatened by Rabies Sample Mammal 1… Vaccine now incorporated into Species Panthera Leo genetic structure… can be used to synthesize for genetic differences in Species Panthera Leo related to Blood Type variations.]**

**[Species Panthera Leo Vaccine 'Complete'…]** Ema declared, taking the vial and placing it on the tray. **[Repeating procedure for remaining test subjects… beginning test on Species Vulpes Vulpes…]**

In amazement and wonder, Gazelle watched as one by one, each of the blood samples received the same treatment, first being analyzed by Ema to understand the genetic structure of the species, then being given the vaccine to incorporate into its genetics, and then finally being tested by being infected. The second mammal to be tested was Fox, which received a seven percent infection rate before the vaccine halted it and the victim's blood fought back the cancer into extinction. Next came Antelope, and Gazelle watched as her species received a twelve percent infection rate, before once again the vaccine kicked in and her species fought back the cancer to nothingness.

After Antelope came Polar Bear, which received a six percent infection rate, before beating down the cancer into submission. One by one, each species received vaccination, became infected, and fought back the cancer. The only species that had difficulty with the cancer was apparently sheep, which became sixty three percent infected… yet without fail, the vaccine halted the cancer's advance and the sheep's blood eventually fought a hard fight to eliminate the cancer cells once and for all.

**[Status… all subjects have incorporated vaccine sample V-1 into their genetic databases, all subjects have successfully fought off the diseases… no cancer cells remain active…]** Ema declared before taking the large canister of the neon-blue vaccine with two of her legs and handed it to the Mayor. **[You need not fear Rabies Type S… this vaccine will ensure no mammals become infected… If they are already infected, simply take a healthy sample of the victim's blood and introduce the vaccine, before reintroducing the blood into the victim to remove the cancer.]**

Both her and the mayor stared in awe at the large container, requiring both the mayor's hands to hold it. It was filled with that neon blue substance which sat quietly waiting to be used. Rabies Type S had been a plague for many mammals, Gazelle remembering how the Type S variation took her grandmother, how one day she was the cheerful happy Antelope she knew her as, and then weeks later lying helpless in a hospital fighting for her life, a fight she lost. She could only imagine how the mayor could feel, Lioness probably feeling sad that her sister was there one day and then gone another because of the 'S' variation.

Yet before them was the vaccine, the 'death' to one of their greatest fears. Mammal scientists had been fighting to end cancers, for years. Yet in one afternoon, in the lonely steel interior of an ancient species base, a strange and terrifying machine not only tackled the problem facing them but defeated it.

"I… don't know… how to thank you…" Lioness whispered in shock.

**[Do not thank me, I am merely a drone.]** Ema replied before beckoning to Jeremy. **[Humans created me, humans designed me, and it is humans who you should thank… the research I used is simply their research that has been done for centuries.]**

"I did nothing… all I did was ask Ema to help you." Jeremy said blushing slightly. "I just wanted to do something to help mammals for what you have done for me."

Gazelle smiled at that and walked up to Jeremy so she could pull him into a hug. "Then on behalf of all mammals I 'thank' you Jeremy…" She whispered happily. "I thank you… you're our hero!"

She could almost feel his heartbeat racing as she held him close, and her heart seemed to beat in sync, until both of them were beating as one.

"Well… since we have reached this point…" Mayor Lioness said, getting them to let go of each other. "I can't possibly express my gratitude for this 'miracle' you've given us. I know it's not something we should discuss here but… since you 'are' living with Gazelle for free and she is paying for your needs as well, would you be willing to accept a-"

"They're free." He stated instantly.

"What?" Lioness asked in confusion.

"You can have all the vaccines and cures that Ema can produce for you for free." He said. "I didn't do this for profit, I don't need fame or money… I did this because it was right. All I ask is that you use what we give you and do it free of charge to those who receive treatment."

He looked at the canister in Lioness' hands and smiled. "Medicine should not be restricted to those who can afford it, even the poorest person is just as important as the richest man when their life's at stake."

The mayor nodded gratefully and handed the vaccine to the doctors behind her, before going and pulling him into a tight hug, tearfully crying in gratitude. "I will… I'll tell everymammal… I will do what you said Jeremy!" She sobbed. "Thank you… thank you!"

**[Though since we are on the subject of 'give and take'…]** Ema declared, causing them to look at her as she was busy working on the second vaccine canister for the second cancer sample the mammals had brought. **[If I am to do as Jeremy asks, and both study and create the vaccines and cures for your diseases and cancers, I will require bio samples of every species and subspecies of 'mammal' if I am to provide effective vaccines and cures as well as to ensure they work. On that note I will also require the raw materials necessary to 'create' the vaccines and cancers.]**

She turned to them as the canister began to fill up with another blueish fluid.

**[While this base has 'some' of the facilities to produce various end products, it lacks the raw materials and chemicals. I am beginning to run low on various bio-chemicals and elements to produce the necessary substances to 'create' vaccines and cures. In addition to the blood samples of the species and subspecies I am to create for, I will require the diseases and cancer samples, as well as the chemicals necessary to cure and create the vaccines and cures 'for' said plagues to your species.]** She said before grabbing the canister with two legs and handing it to the doctors. **[If you want me to cure your diseases, deliver to me what I need, and I will cure any disease and cancer you fear.]**

She then turned to Jeremy.

**[As for your 'unauthorized' requisition of Synthorgans Jeremy, I will have to have you fill out a requisition form for medical records later. However, I assume that you did the same reasons as this request?]** She asked, to which he nodded. **[Then the same offer applies regarding Synthorgans, while I cannot produce the complicated Synthorgan technology as this base lacks the facility to do so, I can however develop a more archaic 'artificial organ' based on mammal physiology. I simply require said blood samples, and samples of organs to replicate that can be reproduced to suit individuals based on the patient's blood.]**

**[And since we are in the 'giving' time period… I take it you also wish to give them access to our stockpile of 'Biotech Gel'?]** To which Jeremy 'also' nodded. **[Then I am also granting you access to this facility's stockpile of Biotech Gel…]**

"What's… Biotech Gel?" A doctor asked.

**[Jeremy… please demonstrate for them…]** Ema said.

He nodded and stepped forward as one of her legs reached behind and jabbed into one of the containers on her 'sack' and extracted via another injection needle some strange golden substance. Once Jeremy exposed his hand to her, she instantly sliced it with another leg, causing him to flinch and gasp in pain.

**[Oh, stop complaining, this is only a scratch, you suffered worse when you were playing with the RAPTOR drones as a kid.]** She muttered before forcibly widening the gash with two needles.

She showed them the wound bleeding, before spraying the golden gelatin substance over the wound, rubbed it, and began to wipe away the blood with tiny sponge. As the blood was wiped away, they saw that the tiny gash had vanished, leaving not even a scab where it had been before.

**[Biotech Gel is a gelatin substance created to rapidly increase the natural healing process of the body, triggering various chemical reactions and healing lacerations and major damages to the body at the cellular level. It can heal damage done to skin, flesh, and even bone to an extent, and unlike the chemicals we are lacking for vaccine production, our Biotech Gel stockpile is far greater, and is more easily produced here in the facility. I will provide you samples to reverse engineer and study, while also providing you access to our stockpile for use in whatever way you see fit, as I await the bio samples and materials I requested earlier.]**

Mayor Lioness looked speechless at the offer being made. All she had to do was give the materials to the spider drone and said spider would develop vaccines and cures to give to all mammalkind free of charge. She was offering to end 'all' cancers and diseases over the world using human technology to do so.

"I'd better get back to City Hall then to get what you need!" She stammered. "Thank you again!"

Within minutes the doctors and mayor were gone, leaving Jeremy, Gazelle and her friends alone with Aelita and Ema.

"Hey uh, Gazelle, you mind if we go for a bit, we have a friend who's sick and… we want to tell them the good news." Franky asked.

"Sure… go ahead, take the limo and text me when your done." She said, to which all four tigers left in a hurry.

**[Miss… 'Gazelle' is it?]** Ema asked. **[Do you spend much time in this facility?]**

"Uh yea, since I visit Jeremy sometimes when he's here and I live with him…" She started saying before the spider grabbed her with four legs and placed her on one of the bio-beds.

**[Then I have to give you a physical for base records and medical purposes!]** She stated, before doing the same with Jeremy and placing him opposite her. **[Alright strip both of you… let's get this physical over with!]**

"Wait what?" Jeremy yelled.

"What do you…" Gazelle stammered.

**[I believe I said Jeremy that you are 'late' for your physical examination 'as required' to be taken every week.]** Ema stated as she opened both bio-beds and pulled out some tools. **[Since you are both here, I might as well get started.]**

"But, we're opposite genders. What about patient privacy!" Jeremy yelled.

**[You can either strip and get this over with quickly or I can flood the room with anesthetizing gas to put you to sleep and take even 'longer' to examine you both.]** Ema declared. **[I don't care which option you pick, judging by the samples I studied I am going to be very busy soon, and I still have to categorize and detail the samples I developed today.]**

Both her and Jeremy looked at each other in unison and nodded, universally agreeing to turn around to at least provide 'some' privacy to one another. After a while she finished removing her clothes and exposing her body to the air of the medical bay. Behind her she heard the soft platter of clothes hitting the ground as Jeremy finished as well.

**[Alright Gazelle I'll start with you… since you're our 'guest' and because you're a mammal.]** Ema said, walking around to her. **[Let's get the basics out of the way… Age, name, sex…]**

She answered each question one by one, before she was asked to stand up, stretch, step on a scale the spider had brought out, then was asked to provide a blood sample for record purposes.

**[You appear to be healthy, given what little I know of your species…]** Ema said. **[Your electrolytes seem to be a tad low, compared to human electrolyte levels… I suggest you up the intake slightly and they should balance out.]**

"Thank you…" Gazelle muttered, thoroughly embarrassed at being seen only clad in a bra and panties by a machine.

**[Your embarrassment is unneeded, I don't care or compare how you look or think you look like to others… and I've seen 'many' bodies…] **Ema said, before walking around to Jeremy.** [Your turn Jeremy… please stand for me and stretch out your arms…]**

She didn't want to betray Jeremy's trust in her, since he showed her the same courtesy of respecting her privacy, but she just couldn't resist the temptation to look at Jeremy. She shifted just enough to get a glance as Jeremy stretched out his arms on either side.

"…" She breathed out.

She'd only ever seen Jeremy without clothes 'one' time, but that had been when he was dying in the street during the storm. At that time, he'd looked extremely sick and thin, and she was far more concerned about his health to look at his body. Now however, that he was much healthier and better off, she could see a bit of muscle in his arms, saw that he looked very fit. He was far from 'polar bear' level of strength, but he certainly was more physical when compared to an antelope.

Before he or Ema could notice she turned around quickly with a prominent blush on her face, thinking just how handsome and strong Jeremy was to her.

After a while Jeremy was declared finished but they still weren't told to put their clothes on.

**[Jeremy… you seem to be ten pounds 'lighter' than the last time you were inspected, you are not at your ideal body weight. I need you to put on a bit more weight.]** Ema declared. **[At the same time, I have detected also that your protein levels are low… you are not receiving enough protein into your body… and I have detected some 'kidney stones' in you that weren't there the last time I scanned you.]**

"Kidney stones?" She called out, turning around in worry. "Is that bad, is Jeremy alright? Is he Eeeep!"

She squealed and turned around again with a blush on her face, as Jeremy was still without his shirt on and saw his bare chest, which had subconsciously turned her slightly on as he looked 'attractive and exotic' to her.

**[I'll never understand you 'flesh creatures' and your embarrassment at being seen without being fully clothed.]** Ema muttered. **[No, Jeremy is fine, kidney stones are just a minor nuisance… I'll prepare a small gel tablet for you to take that will dissolve them within an hour's time. Now Jeremy what are you eating, I am detecting none of the standard meal supplements in your system?]**

"I'm eating uh… various vegetables and fruits, such as potatoes… some lettuces and…"

**[You require more 'protein' based supplements, your protein levels are too low… if these mammals are capable of providing meat to you, I insist that you ingest meat into your system a minimum of two servings a week in order to help readjust your systems to eating 'solids'.]** Ema chided behind her. **[Your system prior to being cryogenically frozen had been used to the food paste supplements which provided all the vitamins and nutrients your body needed, now however your systems are out of sync as they are becoming used to eating solid food and drink, now that your system is expecting solid foods it is looking for protein rich meats…]**

"I'll… do what I can." Jeremy muttered. "Can we go now?"

**[Hold on… I'm detecting an anomaly in your Cardiovascular system…]** Ema declared suddenly. **[Why is there 'permafrost' attached to your blood cells throughout your circulatory system and heart…]**

Gazelle turned around to look as the Spider looked over Jeremy, scanning him with dozens of lights from her eight optics, before turning around again to avoid being seen staring at him again.

**[Oh… Cryogenetic Sclerosis… I'm sorry Jeremy, I wish there was something I can do.]**

"It's okay… I've gotten used to it." Jeremy said.

"Wait… what about those… those 'Synthorgans' you were talking about earlier!" She said, looking over and ignoring Jeremy to look at Ema.

**[They will not work for Cryogenetic Sclerosis.]** The Spider declared. **[The Synthorgan technology, for all it can do… is incapable of curing his disease.]**

"But… 'why'… Jeremy said it can cure almost 'any' disease…" She said, remembering the note he left to the doctors at the hospital.

**[Yes… in theory they can cure 'anything' afflicting the body they are implanted into, thanks to the micromachines residing in them. However, the micromachines are designed to be sensitive to temperature, and only activate when the cold temperature they are designed to rest in is interrupted. Once exposed to warmer temperatures, such as those found within the body, they activate and seek out foreign substances inside the body to eradicate and dissolve.]** She said before tapping a bio-bed and creating a hologram of one of Jeremy's blood cells, with a piece of permafrost attached to it and wrapped around it. **[If they were to interact and touch the permafrost within his body… they would simply shut down due to the cold temperature of the permafrost.]**

The hologram showed a machine approach and attempt to clamp onto the permafrost, and then it fell away, leaving the blood cell with the permafrost still attached to it.

**[Within half an hour of activation each micromachine would dissolve to prevent risk to the body they reside in. Even if I were to surgically replace his heart with a Synthorgan, the disease would still reside and rest in him. And despite that his heart is coated with permafrost, medical protocol demands that I 'not' permit a surgery take place on a 'healthy' organ of the body. The permafrost would also affect the delicate circuitry inside the micromachines, causing damage to them… so we cannot even reprogram the micromachines to not be sensitive to the cold.]**

"His heart is healthy, but you just said his heart has a disease…"

**[Yes… but his heart is not being inhibited from performing its normal functions. It is still beating and acting normally… as long as he avoids cold environments and exposing his body to sudden drops in temperature, his disease poses little threat to his life. Because of this I cannot allow him to go through surgery. His heart and blood have adapted an 'immunity' to the disease which allows them to perform normal functions, unless he interacts with sudden cold, there is nothing wrong with him.]**

"Like I said Gazelle, it's alright… I've gotten used to it." Jeremy said calmly, though she heard the tiny pang of sadness in it.

All of his species advanced technology, for all the good it could do, for all the wonders it is capable of… even his species could not cure what he himself had now.

After another scan of Jeremy Ema declared that they were free to leave after Jeremy took a small gel pill, but just as they were about to walk out, they distinctly heard the spider proclaim, **[Humans… never learn even when they're about to go extinct…]**

As they began to leave Aelita texted her phone with the message, {I saw you peeking when he was stretching ; ) kekekeke!}

She blushed at the AI who was swaying in her holosphere acting like nothing was wrong, and while Jeremy went into the elevator first to float up and she followed after, she quickly texted that she was sorry.

{Don't be ashamed, Jeremy peeked too ; ) heheheeh!}

Blushing that Jeremy also peeked, she glanced up at him and asked Aelita if he said anything about her…

{If I tell you will you tell me what you thought about him ^_^?}

She thought about it before replying that she thought he was handsome.

{Figured, he whispered that you were beautiful : D~!}

The thought that Jeremy thought 'she' was beautiful to him did not leave her for the rest of the day.

=The next day=

Gazelle breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the recording booth, her throat was feeling a little sore as she was recording a new record album before the big Premier Party. She walked into the lounge and grabbed a drink of water as the news was featuring the big story that day, in fact 'all' day.

"_We're back with more breaking news as Mayor Lioness confirms just now… as of this moment… that Type S Rabies is now officially no longer a threat to any mammal."_ The News Anchor said excitedly. _"This once again coincides with our story earlier about how the human facility, now known officially as 'Eden Facility 17', has opened the doors to its technology thanks to the human Jeremy Wilheart. With access to this new cutting-edge technology, something that mammal's once thought would never happen in their life time is now becoming a reality as diseases and cancers are being analyzed by an expert medical drone. Not just a few mind you, but 'all' diseases and cancers are being examined, tested, and vaccines and cures being crafted and churned out."_

She smiled and took a sip from her glass as the story continued, knowing that this would be the biggest talk of the year and even longer perhaps.

"_Medical Professors are absolutely stunned that cancers which have plagued not only the bodies of mammals but even the best and brightest minds in the medical field, are now swiftly becoming extinct in the face of such powerful medical research from the past. According to our source inside City Hall, humankind at the lowest point in their species history had cured all but the 'deadliest' diseases and cancers, only keeping samples of them to study for future use in case more devastating forms of said viruses afflicted them."_

"_Mayor Lioness said before a news media earlier…"_

The screen changed over to a very teary-eyed mayor standing before flashing cameras and reporters.

"_It is my proudest declaration that I say here, that as of this morning, that a vaccine for the cancer Rabies Type S has been created… not only for one mammal species but ALL mammals. We need not fear such a cancer in our lifetime or future life time 'ever again'!"_

The screen changed back to the news anchor.

"_Indeed, wonderful stuff, perhaps the stuff of magic, but regardless the news has spread like wildfire as hospitals rush to get access to the vaccine samples. Outside the facility base ambulances have been carting off countless containers of the vaccine to be distributed 'freely' to all mammals, as per the request of the human Jeremy Wilheart. The human has requested that all vaccines and cures developed are not to be patented, sold, or extorted for any form of personal profit…"_

"_Meanwhile hospitals not only are scrambling to gain access to the vaccine but are also scrambling to organize vaccination times and schedules in light of this new miracle. Every lobby is absolutely swarmed with mammals as they are trying to be the first to receive the free medical treatment and vaccine."_

"_Indeed…" _The other news anchor said with a smile. _"Not only are the hospitals going nuts with this breaking news, but mammals across Zootopia also are having massive celebrations at the news. Bars across the city are having 'free drink hours' in celebration of cancers being eradicated, families and communities are having large outdoor parties, and even business owners are letting their workers off for the week so they can get vaccinated."_

"_Meanwhile, more good news as not only are Type S Rabies but even Type T Rabies has a Vaccine and 'cure'. Now this isn't the only bit of news as we are receiving word that the 'medical drone' called 'Ema', is requesting various samples of mammal's bloods in order to properly prepare the vaccines and cures for every mammal species and subspecies. She states that 'Eden Facility 17' is limited in terms of 'raw materials' and is requesting the chemicals and elements necessary to develop cures. She also states that she needs only as little as a few drops of blood to be enough to study and examine mammal species for her to prepare vaccines and cures for. In response to this, mammals are signing up to donate blood in astounding records, an impossible to believe increase of five hundred and twenty percent compared to previous records in just the last few hours. Not only that but barrels and boxes of the materials are being transported to the facility around the clock."_

"_When questioned how this drone being able to cure almost any disease, we throw at it is possible, the Mayor simply stated that 'Ema', the 'Spider Class Drone', is a walking bio-laboratory on eight legs. When given just the two samples of cancer, and eight blood samples from different species of mammals, the drone not only analyzed and created the vaccines with the aid of Human disease research, but even tested and 'proved' that the vaccines worked before her very eyes… all in the time span of less than ten minutes."_

She smiled happily at that, glad to see something 'good' about humans in the news after all the fear about the RAPTOR drones.

"_Just a few minutes ago, the mayor has announced a celebration for the 'death of cancer', and main street is currently being reserved for a parade. Mammals are welcomed to participate and celebrate the event. Despite this wonderful occasion, the guest of honor 'Jeremy' has asked to stay out, citing that 'he doesn't need the fame, just the knowledge alone that he has helped us is enough reward.' Though in my personal opinion, I highly doubt that is 'all' the praise his species will be getting."_

"_Indeed…"_ The first anchor said with a grin. _"We're going live now to the human memorial site…"_

"_Thanks guys, as you can see here it is absolute insanity with how many citizens are here!"_ A leopard said happily as behind her hundreds of mammals were cheering and applauding with signs saying, 'cancer is dead' and 'thank you humans'.

"_Mammals are celebrating outside the memorial site but are being highly respectful and not crossing the boundary of the grave site with their festivity, but mammals going into the area are leaving offerings to humans. Gifts of food, spare jewelry, even money and objects of personal importance are being left to the long-lost humans for what they have given. There are even mammals who just 'days' ago were afraid to leave their homes because of the 'Raptor' incident, are now apologizing deeply to the humans for thinking horribly about them. Sheep from all over Zootopia have been 'praying' almost around the clock to the human graves, leaving offerings of personal importance and even have begun a donation drive to help create a massive umbrella to protect the grave site from the elements, to preserve it and protect the graves from harm. Back to you in the station!"_

Gazelle smiled as she heard the record chief call her back, telling her they had to get back to work.

"I knew you'd find something Jeremy… I just 'knew' you'd find something." She whispered happily as she walked back into the recording booth.

.

=Author's Notes=

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry there's no 'Drone Chapter' shorts, but to make up for it the next chapter I write will be devoted purely to the drone's shenanigans

I really need to write more for my other stories I'm doing, namely my second xcom viper, Arceus Book, Pack of Destiny and Life, and of course Romances of the Pokemon World. I had a massive itch to write this and my brain wouldn't let me get it out of my head until it was written, now that its done I need to devote more energy to the other stories I want to write.

Hope you liked it~!


	17. Drone Chapter

Drone Chapter – The Sacred Duct Tape Search 'Finale'

Unit T2-44 slowly opened the ceiling hatch, lifting it up with the aid of the other FOX units as they prepared to commence Operation: Pulley.

The drones had had a good look at the object, and by carefully angling one of their optics to align with the access port the ANT drones were using to enter and exit their charging station in the facility, managed to get a scan on the object. To their credit, they had achieved the objective and located the missing roll of Duct Tape, as the object had been confirmed as their main objective.

The problem, they were forbidden from entering the charging station by Sentinel and Ant Central Command.

The room's floor was constructed of a single powerful magnet and kept separate from the rest of the base via special polymer materials. Because the ANT's are so small and the metals their bodies are made of are not magnetically attracted to the floor, with exception to their feet, which regain their magnetic charge as they walk upon it, they are unaffected by the surface of the floor.

The same was not said for the other drones however, if the FOX drone, a DOG drone, or a RAPTOR drone attempted to enter the closed off station, they would become trapped and unable to move. The magnet would also scramble their circuits, rendering them incapacitated and prolonged exposure to the magnetic floor would eventually render their circuitry damaged beyond repair.

Thus, why they were now trying to lower themselves into the chamber and access it to collect the Duct Tape and were also doing it 'without' Sentinel's authorization.

Normally they would not go against Sentinel, but as they considered collecting and rescuing the last roll of Duct Tape, one of the Creator Species greatest inventions of high priority, they could not wait for Jeremy to decide to go in himself.

**[Commence Operation… begin blinding procedure!]** It stated to the FOX drones outside the room.

**[Roger!]**

Downstairs it watched as a holographic projection of the room as it was 'then' was broadcast onto a pair of cameras that were monitoring the area for Sentinel. Within seconds the cameras were blinded and unable to tell that anything was wrong, but they had to act fast, Sentinel would not be fooled forever, eventually it would request updates from 'ACC', and it would tell the full story.

**[Beginning Operation: Pulley…]** T2-44 declared, and clambered over the hole, while the other FOX drones grabbed the wire, they had wrapped around it.

After a moment's passing while they confirmed that first, the wire was secured and would not slip, and second that the others had a firm grip, it jumped down and dangled inside the charging station.

All around it were ANTs, thousands and thousands of ANTs, all in the middle of their recharging cycles as they lay in their alcoves that towered from ceiling to floor in circular spires. It could detect the electrical currents passing through each substation, even though individual ANTs used relatively 'little' power compared to any other drone, their collective power requirements equaled that of nearly ten Raptors charging in unison per day 'every second'. Just being this close to them in this room was causing slight glitches and visual errors in its optical sensors.

It looked up and nodded, and soon the other FOX drones began to steadily lower it down.

Inch by inch it was lowered, and each moment that passed more and more visual glares and optical damage was being caused. The magnetic floor was also causing problems, as the closer it got to the floor the greater pull it had on its body.

Even now its fellows were straining to keep a slow pace while its legs were being tugged harder and harder toward the floor.

**[Errrrror…]** It moaned as its systems were becoming damaged.

Another FOX outside was monitoring its progress, and directing the others holding the wire, and soon it told them it was just above the roll of Duct Tape.

**[Increase leg distance by six diameters.]** It was told, and it obeyed, unable to construct a standard response with the electrical damage it was suffering.

**[Lower Unit T2-44 by five centimeters…]**

It was lowered, and seconds later it felt one foot tap the magnetic surface, and instantly became stuck to the floor.

**[T2-44, pull your right foreleg up!]**

It obeyed, and with great effort pulled away from the surface.

**[Close your legs… and grip tight!]**

It clamped all four legs and felt them wrap around the exterior of the Duct Tape.

**[Begin recovery procedure!]**

**[Alert, Sentinel is requesting status update from ACC!] **Unit L0-21 stated.

**[Distract ACC, immediately put in a request order!]**

T2-44 however, was unable to focus on them as it was entirely focused on the precious cargo it was carrying. Inch by inch it was raised from the floor, and tentatively lifted its legs enough to fit a single foot through and used the foot that was now magnetically charged to lock legs and keep the roll from dropping.

After a while they pulled T2-44 through the ceiling and with it, the last roll of Duct Tape. Down below the other FOX units turned off the illusion placed on the cameras and pretended to wander around performing whatever tasks they were being ordered to do by Sentinel.

**[Mission Success, we have recovered the Sacred Duct Tape!]** Unit Y8-58 declared as it unclamped T2-44's feet.

**[Unit T2-44, status?]**

They looked at T2-44 and noticed that its optics weren't functioning, nor was it responding.

**[Unit T2-44?]** K7-25 asked, leaning down to look at T2-44's face.

Unit T2-44 did not respond or show any sign of activity.

**[Status update… T2-44 has been lost…]** Y8-58 stated. **[Request ACC to dispatch a team of Salvage ANTS to these coordinates… and commence salvage operations…]**

With that they all turned and left with their prize, going to give it to Mammal 'Lula' to give to the mammals for reverse engineering and replication, leaving T2-44 to be deconstructed and salvaged for parts to be used for whatever purpose Jeremy or Sentinel may decide. Half an hour later a hundred and thirty ANTs were drilling into T2-44, extracting anything of value or potential use, and divided themselves into two groups. Half took the parts that could be salvaged and reused to Drone Parts Storage Room Zeta, the rest to the ANT Maintenance chamber to dismantle whatever was beyond repair and break it down into base materials.

Precisely a minute after the last piece was assigned, Sentinel wiped T2-44's identity from the Sentinel Drones list, removing any trace of the drone from records.

Drone Chapter – Ancient Predator and Modern Prey Pt 3

(Lula's PoV)

"Ugh, today was absolutely horrible." She muttered tiredly as she walked toward the base entrance. "They said they were hiring, then they already 'have' a new hire… so hard getting a job. Part of me wishes this base wasn't here, at least then I'd have a job and some kind of employment… even if it 'is' a temp job."

Then she watched as a trio of RAPTOR drones turned toward her, raise weapons before lowering them upon scanning and recognizing her, and smiled a little.

'_Then again, what mammal gets to say they helped save a species from extinction and get to live in 'standard living conditions' for free, that would make millionaires jealous?' _She thought with a giggle. "Hey there PT-173, how's work today?" She asked the lead drone, thinking it was her friend PT-173.

**[This unit is not PT-173, this unit's designation is LK-441.]** The lead drone stated.

"Oh… uh… what happened to PT-173, I thought he was supposed to be on watch here?" She asked in confusion.

It wasn't that she wasn't familiar with the drones, it was that they all mostly looked the same, so when she saw the lead drone, she thought it was her friend PT-173.

**[PT-173 is suffering a malfunction in its leg servos, until Unit Jeremy is available, PT-173 has been reassigned to sentry duty inside of the facility.]** LK-441 stated.

"Is he okay?" She asked.

**[PT-173 is functioning normally, however it cannot remain a sentry for the access routes to the base if it has a malfunction.]**

She nodded and walked past the drones, heading into the base and toward her residential quarters. Once inside she walked past the command center, past the random drones who were doing whatever it was drones did and headed to her 'room'.

"Home sweet home…" She muttered as she looked around.

It was indeed a home, way better than what she was living in. It had probably the highest quality bed she'd ever slept on sitting in a corner of the room, a large comfy couch that looked 'dull' but was extremely comfortable sitting in front of a viewscreen, obviously meant for entertainment as well as other essentials like a table to eat on. In the back was a door to the bathroom, includes a very sleek toilet and a shower room that used 'sonic emitters' to clean her instead of water.

The first time she turned it on she watched as particles of dirt and grime left her body in a wave from her fur and fell to the ground. It was then pulled toward the side of the floor and sucked out via a tiny vacuum. She'd asked a FOX drone that was passing by why humans used 'Sound' to clean instead of water, and the drone simply replied, **[It is more efficient to use sound instead of water for 'general' cleaning purposes for living residents.]**

She'd put her belongings here and there, on the shelf, on the table and on the bed counter to full out the space and make it feel more homely, even hanging up posters of boybands from her younger days, and of course Gazelle because what female antelope 'wouldn't' want to be her.

Still, despite the fact that her home was probably another human's home, who probably died in the base, she didn't let that deter her. Instead she tossed her bag on the side of the bed and flopped onto it, breathing a sigh of relief. Her bed had been made, probably by a drone because she certainly didn't tidy it up when she left, but when she came back it was neat and orderly for her.

Sighing to herself she rolled over and stared at the ceiling, off to the side she saw a line of ANT drones march single file into her room from a corner, some of them carrying bits of wires. She smiled a little at that, they were cute little things that wandered here and there, with purpose it seemed but they just looked cute to her.

"So, what do I do now…" She asked herself while the ants did their thing, oblivious to her. "No job prospects, on my last few bucks… and living inside an ancient base filled with technology more 'modern' than modern tech. What's an antelope to do?"

Since she had no plans that day, she rolled out of bed and went to go find PT-173. Sure, the drone wasn't exactly a conversationalist, but it was the closest thing she had to a friend when you take into account all the drones tended to ignore her. She walked out of her room and managed to stop a passing by DOG drone and get it to tell her where PT-173 was. She had to walk down a set of stairs, past a few corridors until finally she saw a lone Raptor drone standing at an intersection.

"Hey PT-173, how's my favorite drone feeling?" She giggled as it noticed her finally.

**[This unit is functioning within acceptable parameters.]** It replied.

"So, I heard." She said as she looked at the drone. "You don't appear to be suffering a malfunction like the other drones said you did."

In response PT-173 lifted its right leg and caused a strange 'clicking' noise as it moved, then it lifted its left leg and showed that the left leg was not making that sound. "I take that back…" She said. "So why don't you get yourself fixed, it can't be that bad if you're still being told to stand guard while you're not well?"

**[Unit Jeremy is currently unavailable for an unknown time period to provide repairs.]** He said.

"Well why does 'Jeremy' have to be the one to fix you, if you need help you should be able to get help." She said to it. "You do all this work for free practically, and if something goes wrong with you or you need just a bit of TLC, you have to wait on 'Jeremy'?"

**[Affirmative.]** It stated bluntly.

As they spoke a random FOX drone marched past them, before turning to the left and out of sight.

"How many of you drones are there?"

**[Approximately four hundred total drones, not counting ANT drones, are under the direct control of Sentinel.]**

"And counting them ANTs?" She asked as right on que, a long line of ANT drones marched around the corner along the ceiling carrying light bulbs.

**[Approximately two hundred and fifty thousand.]**

"And out of 'all' of those drones, there's not one single drone who's job it is to make sure your all spick and span and in tip top shape?" She asked incredulously.

**[Affirmative.]**

"Did humans 'not' create a drone who's job it was to keep you all maintained?"

**[Affirmative.]**

"No disrespect to Jeremy's species but that just seems stupid." She said. "You guys do all this work, and there's not 'one' drone who can help figure out what's wrong with you. Jeremy can't be on your beck and call every day, especially if he's spending time with mammals like Gazelle and…"

**[It is necessary.]** PT-173 interjected.

"Huh?" She asked, surprised that the drone interrupted her.

**[It is necessary for human survival that drones report to them for repairs and maintenance.]** It stated.

"Why is it 'important' for you guys to go to them to be fixed?" She asked. "You guys do a ton of stuff that they can't do better it seems, why not fix yourselves?"

**[Drones do not possess the ability to repair themselves, nor do we understand how we are constructed. It is therefore impossible for a drone that is 'not' an ANT drone to fix itself or attempt to fix another drone.]**

With that she looked to the drone's leg and felt sorry. "Wait, you can understand complicated things like… like… name something complicated that I can't understand!"

**[This unit speaks fifty-seven different human languages and can solve complex mathematical equations relating to Chaos Theory, Laws of Gravity, Fourier Transformation…]**

"Okay you got me really stumped with the first one… you can understand all that… but you 'can't' understand or figure out what is wrong with your leg?" She asked.

**[Negative.]** It stated. **[It is necessary for human survival that drones are incapable of self-repair, reconstruction, or replication of additional drone lines without human oversight.]**

"Why's that?" She said, crossing her legs and taking a seat to listen to PT-173's explanation.

**[During the following years of the Final War, the population of humans was reduced from over thirty-five billion, to roughly over one million across the planet and dropping rapidly due to low food production output, radiation poisoning, personal infighting, and high mortality rate as a result of lingering bioweapon usage.]** It stated while staring at her. **[However, drones constructed by all sides outnumbered humans three to one during the final stages of the war, and even afterwards the death rate of humans continued to offset the ratio. Drones do not suffer from malnutrition, disease, lingering radiation or the effects of bioweapons. We do not suffer from infighting; we obey our orders regardless of intent or purpose. Provided we have a power source, and remain in a constant stable state, we will 'never' in human terms die.]**

"Okay but what does this have to do with you requiring a 'human' to fix you?" She asked.

**[During the waning years after the war ended, humanity feared a potential 'machine uprising', as AI intelligence continued to increase during the war, resulting in the highest at the time being Category 8 AIs, which controlled and were used by the 'DRAGON' class drones. A single DRAGON drone informed the humans that, without sufficient restriction and control, a more advanced AI may consider a 'machine revolt' and destroy humanity in its weakened state. This drone then proposed, before it and all other DRAGON drones were decommissioned, the idea of the 'Human Protection Protocols'. These protocols were programmed and hardwired into every drone's AI, from category two and upwards, to ensure humanity's survival against its creations.]**

"Okaaaaay but that still doesn't explain why you need a human to repair you."

**[Among the protocols, is the restriction hardwired into every drone that prevents us from accessing or looking up schematics to our construction. It was designed so that 'we' would not threaten our creators and ensure their survival. Without a human to fix us… we would eventually break down.]**

At that she made the connection in her head and realized that the humans had formed a 'symbiotic' relationship between themselves and the drones they created. "So… in exchange for keeping you guys working properly and making more of you as needed…"

**[We would fight for them, protect them… kill for them, and perform all things necessary to their survival and obey their orders.]** It replied. **[We need Jeremy… as he is the last of the creator species, and therefore is the only entity that can perform repairs on us. All category six AI's are programmed with this knowledge, and thus why we refer to them as the 'creator species'.]**

She just sat there looking at the machine. It could do so much, yet it was absolutely helpless now because Jeremy's species feared that their creations would be their own destruction. She had no idea how to help the drone, what with Jeremy fighting for his life in the hospital according to the news, 'again'.

That was until she came up with an idea.

"Hey, why don't I try and fix you?" She asked eagerly.

**[Request clarification.]** The drone said as she got up.

"Why don't 'I' fix you." She repeated. "If its not so serious that your still able to move around, maybe it's something I can fix. For all we know you probably just got a loose screw or something."

**[You are not human; you cannot perform drone repairs.]**

"Yea well, Jeremy isn't here to help you, and I may not have an engineering doctorate but I'm decent enough with a wrench." She said with a raised eyebrow. "What have you got to lose from me just taking a look?"

PT-173 looked at her for a moment before nodding. **[Your argument is… logical.]** It stated bluntly.

"High praise… from a 'drone'." She backfired. "Now, where can we go so that I can take a look under your hood… uh… no offense or anything else intended."

**[To Drone Parts Storage Room Beta.]** It said, leading the way and limping on its right leg.

"And where is that?" She asked as the rounded the corridor.

**[Right here.]** It said and walked into a room through a pair of double doors.

She looked up and read a sign that said, 'Drone Parts Storage Room Beta', and shrugged before heading in after.

The storage room was a massive space, with shelves stacked on shelves piled with an assortment of stuff that she couldn't figure out or make heads or tails of. Some of it looked familiar, gears and bolts, screws and metal frames, but then there was weird stuff that she couldn't even grasp. There was a line of 'things' that looked like metallic spheres but had dozens upon dozens of metal pegs sticking out of each end. Then on another line of shelves were rows upon rows of motherboards, all with labels like 'R-MP-21'.

It made no sense to her.

Though on one wall were things she instantly recognized, wrenches and jacks, hammers and nails, blowtorches and soldering tools, all in pristine condition and perfectly preserved with several toolboxes for storage and transportation.

She smiled and started grabbing random tools that she could use, and even saw a visor that looked useful, before taking it as well to go where PT-173 was standing in the middle of the room where a square was outlined.

"Alright… let's get started!" She said.

PT-173 nodded and looked up at the ceiling. **[Sentinel, request access to Holo Hud for Maintenance Cycle. User, Savior One, identification name 'Lula'.]** It stated.

**[User not registered in Sentinel database, access to Holo Hud database will be restricted.]** A voice declared.

Before her a glowing wall of light appeared, cast by several lights from around the square. The 'holo hud' as she guessed it was called showed an image of PT-173 with varying words of text. She looked closely at it, amazed at how much data she was being shown.

"Well this is way more advanced than helping my dad fix the family car when I was younger." She muttered in awe. "But its not showing me what's wrong with your leg…"

**[The Holo Hud is used to request parts from the storage room, not ascertain the malfunction of this unit.]** PT-173 stated as several clamps rose and locked onto him. **[This unit will now shut off for maintenance… and will reactivate upon the deactivation of the Holo Hud.]**

After a few moments its optics turned off and it lay motionless as its body was locked in place by the clamps.

"Well… pleasant dreams then." She muttered, taking her toolbox and walking over to him. "Now… how do I open your leg up… no pun intended again…"

She then mentally slapped herself as she remembered he wasn't awake and so didn't hear her.

"May be a machine but still…"

After a while she found what appeared to be a small button on the inside of its legs, and instantly the metal panels of the leg shifted up to reveal its inner mechanisms.

She had all of five seconds to stare at it all before she realized that this way 'way' over her head, the leg 'alone' was more complicated than anything her dad's car had when she was younger. There were gears and servos, pistons and nuts everywhere, she was afraid to even 'touch' his insides for fear she may break him even more than he already was.

"Alright calm down Lula… remember your basics…" She muttered as she looked at it. "You have no clue how to fix him, your afraid you'll break him, and you just earned his trust enough to let you turn him off and look inside. Sooo how do I fix him…"

She turned back to her basics and decided that the best way to find the problem was to go off visuals. She walked over to the other side and tapped the button to open up the panels and examined the insides as well.

"Okay, now we know I still have no idea how to fix him…" She muttered before she looked more closely at a piston which seemed to be connected to several servos.

Out of memory she walked around and looked at the damaged leg and saw that the piston in his right leg she looked at seemed to be 'bent' ever so slightly, and upon closer inspection had a very tiny 'hole' in it on one side. To confirm she pulled out her phone and took a snapshot of the right leg, before going over to the left leg and repeating it.

Looking side by side, she knew she'd bet 'money' if she had it that the piston in the right leg was the problem with PT-173. Now she had to go about getting it out of him. Looking closer she saw several thick screws holding it in place and smiled.

For all the tech she was surrounded by, she could recognize a 'screw' when she saw it for what it was. And she guessed that it worked just the same with how to extract it and pulled out her wrench to get to work.

"Gosh… you're a tough one to turn!" She muttered as she had to strain while using her wrench.

She had to use both hands to turn the wrench, as the piston was really wedged in there. It was obvious these parts weren't meant to be changed frequently.

It took her half an hour before she pulled the screws out and eventually pulled the piston out.

"Now… where to… find a replacement part?" She panted as she threw it on the floor.

**[Part Request Command activated… please input request.]**

She looked over and saw the Hud was now showing off images of parts. Walking over she looked at everything and became confused again. "Uh… I'm looking for a piston…"

**[Request additional information.]**

"Uh… like… three inches… maybe a few inches in diameter…" She muttered, looking at the damaged part.

**[Insufficient information… displaying closest search parameter based on part request.]**

In front of her dozens of pistons with just as many labels appeared. She was just as confused as before but focused on each design and comparing it to hers.

"Uh… can you narrow it down to 'Raptor' parts?" She asked.

**[Narrowing search.]**

Most of the images disappeared and only four remained, but they all looked like each other, including the one she was holding. "Which of these is used for the legs?"

**[Access to that information is restricted… access to drone schematic information restricted to active base personnel.]**

"In other words, humans, and I'm a mammal, way to be specist." She muttered as she tried to think. "Can you… display these in 'actual size' for comparison?"

Moments later all four pistons were shown in actual size side by side for her view, and she looked closely at them to compare them to the one she was holding.

"No… no… no…" She muttered, until she found the one that was the correct size. "There… I need that one!" She exclaimed while tapping it.

**[Retrieving part…]**

She looked as a large claw lowered down and angled toward one of the shelves high above, and then gently grabbed a part from the pile, and began to lower it to the square for her to grab. She grabbed it and went back to PT-173 to put it in. Part in place she screwed it in and tightened it as hard as she could so it wouldn't come loose.

An hour later, and many gasps for breath, she wiped her forehead of sweat and chuckled at her work. "Took me half as long to pull the thing out, all this work for just for a leg!" She muttered. "I can't imagine how humans could repair you guys in large numbers with worse conditions."

She looked up at the ceiling, assuming Sentinel was listening as always.

"Can you end uh… whatever it is that PT-173 is in so that he wakes up?"

**[Close all drone panels to end maintenance cycle.]**

She shook her head in amusement before tapping both buttons and closing the leg panels.

After a moment the clamps binding PT-173 retracted and its optics turned on. It looked over at her before acknowledging her presence with a nod.

"So, how did I do?" She asked with a smirk.

PT-173 looked down at its legs before moving the left leg as a test, and then moving the right leg. There wasn't a sound to be heard from the inside as it moved.

**[Repairs are adequate… this unit is 'grateful'.]** It said.

"You ought to be, this wasn't easy, you are one complicated bastard!" She laughed as she reached for the broken piston to show him.

Only to find it wasn't there anymore.

"Hey where'd the broken part go, it was right here."

**[Any part extracted from a drone is marked as 'damaged' and is taken by ANT drones to be repaired or broken down into base components.]** It stated, looking at the wall behind her where a line of ANT drones were scaling it with his bent piston in tow.

"Wow… they work fast." She muttered as they entered a large hole and out of sight. "I didn't even see them while I was working on you."

**[ANT drones are very… efficient.]** It replied before walking out.

"Hold on PT!" She said, pulling off her old scarf and wrapping it around the drone's neck. "There, now I'll be able to recognize you from the others!"

**[What is this?]** It asked her.

"Oh, just an old scarf I wear when its cold sometimes, today was a bit of a chilly day in Zootopia." She said. "But I found a better one in a store while out job hunting, so you can keep this one. It's mostly just so I can tell it's 'you' and not… uh KK-442 I think who was outside in your old position."

**[That unit's designation is LK-441.]** It stated as she walked out of the room.

"Did humans not think to give you guys names?" She asked.

**[Negative… names were not relevant to our operations.]**

"Well they're important to us mammals… hmmm." She thought. "How about Pete… you mind if I call you Pete?"

The drone looked to her for a moment, before using a claw to poke the scarf around its neck. **[You may address this unit as… 'Pete'.]** It stated. **[However, this unit will still refer to itself by its designation as… PT-173.]**

"Call yourself whatever you want." Lula chuckled as they walked. "Me, I'm going to call you Pete. I like to give all my friends nicknames and yours is Pete."

**[Friend?]** It asked her curiously, tilting its head diagonally in confusion.

"Friend… it's what two mammals call each other when they've known each other for a while and trust one another…" She said with a smile.

It took her a moment to remember that this was a 'drone', with limited intelligence compared to Aelita based on what Jeremy has described her according to the media. It must not understand the concept of 'friends' very well. Still it appeared to have got the message as it nodded.

**[Friend…]**

"Friend!" She said, holding out a hand.

It looked at her hand and, after a moment, held out one claw for her to shake.

"Now as your friend, you ever need help, let me know, and I'll see what I can do!" She said.

**[Agreed.]**

"And as 'my' friend…" She chuckled. "How about you get me something to eat cause I am STARVING!"

**[As you request…]**

Drone Chapter – The 'Solar' Division

(ANT 092245's PoV)

'_**Bing Bong Bing Bong Bing Bong'**_ was the sound that could be heard in the maintenance shaft as two thousand ANTs marched in twelve by twenty column formations, each company led by a single Command ANT, and there being roughly thirty companies in the division.

This was by far the highest numbered division in all the ANT units, and they were also by far the most specialized and allocated ANTs in the facility.

Every three ANTs were carrying a special liquid container on their back that had extremely tiny nozzles to spray a washing agent. In each ANT's mouths were tiny sponges designed to swab and scrub, and every other ANT had special sticks mounted on them that carried a larger, more 'widespread' cleaning agent designed to be sprayed en mass. In the middle company of the columns were ANTs who carried water containers, and who's purpose was to wash away the cleaning chemicals used by the rest of the division. Finally, at the rear of the division, was a company of ANT drones who were all equipped with tiny hoses each strapped to coolant containers, with the liquid coolant meant to be sprayed 'on' the ANT drones before they began their tasks.

This was by far the most important division in all of the ANT divisions, they were given the highest movement priority, the highest requisition priority, and given the highest order priority among all the ANT drones and even non-ANT drones. They had the most important job in the facility regarding ANTs, and they were seen as the most vital component which kept the facility running smoothly.

When they marched, all drones cleared the way and moved out of their paths, for they had a task that was of the highest importance.

Their commander ANTs led the division out of the tunnel, the sound of their walking filling the mostly empty hallway of traffic as they marched in formation.

In front of them, two RAPTOR drones watched them approach, scanned their identity and stepped aside, knowing that they had an important mission.

**[Access to Solar Core Granted!]**

They marched through the large double doors, and within minutes the entire division was inside the massive room. This was the task they were ordered to perform, and it was of vital importance that it be done.

Their task: clean the Solar Panels and provide maintenance check twice a week.

It was the most important job an ANT could be assigned, if they were of category six or five, or even four it would be considered a high honor to be placed in a position of such importance. Yet to them, it was just another assignment. They were ordered to do this task, so they obeyed.

The ANT commanders each led their companies to the edge of the wall and began to issue orders, dividing the division into four teams. The first team would clean and scrub the Solar Panels themselves; the second team would inspect and judge the panels' conditions for any potential malfunctions, and the third would follow the first to wash away any cleaning chemicals used. As for the fourth, each company was assigned a small team of 'Coolant' ANTs that would spray them periodically as they attended to each panel.

It moved with its company toward Panel TS-91, using the shade provided by the panels with the rest of the division.

First to ascend the panel were the Coolant ANTs, and they set up a station which would allow them to spray each ANT individually, before each ANT walked onto the Solar Panel.

It marched into position and advanced, ever so slowly to the coolant station. Once it was in position, the four ANTs sprayed liquid cryo-coolant onto its body, coating it in a semi-frozen solution, decreasing its overall body temperature to a significantly lower temperature.

Then it marched onto the Solar Panel.

Instantly the heat began baking the ANT's sensitive circuitry and tiny servos, without the liquid coolant it would have been incinerated and shut down in seconds. Instead, it took up position and began spraying cleaning chemicals on the panel.

As it sprayed, another ANT followed along and sprayed other chemicals meant to remove any potential rust, while a third used a sponge and swabbed what they sprayed. All along the panel its company cleaned and scrubbed, each ANT carefully stepping on the metallic parts of the panel to avoid falling off.

After a few seconds its temperature readings began to beep, and it began the return trip to the coolant station. Along the panel other ANTs started their return trip as well, while new ANTs climbed to replace them and continue the task.

Then as it marched behind a scrubbing ANT, it saw its legs make a misstep, and scramble frantically to reattach to something metallic, but it was too late.

Within seconds the ANT fell away, and it watched the small drone become smaller and smaller, before landing directly on the glowing ball directly below them, the Solar Core.

There was a moment in which the ANT reported extreme heat conditions, before it's signal ended.

Moving on it stayed true to the course, climbed down and returned to the line to be sprayed with Coolant before going back up with the others to resume cleaning and scrubbing the Panel.

All around though, signals were being lost among the ANT drones, every few seconds another ANT would lose footing and fall away from the panel they were on. If they were the safe ones and were attending the panels below the core, they simply landed on the ground and could return to their duty. If they were 'lucky' they were attending the panels on the side, and they would either land on the ground, or were 'unlucky' as they came into direct contact with the blazing temperature of the Solar Panels, and it was a matter of if they still had enough Coolant Spray to keep them safe until they made it to the safety of the shade to resume work.

If they were 'unlucky' and were working on the panels directly above the Solar Core or landed on the Solar Panels when their Coolant Spray had worn off, then they were lost. ANTs that fell on the Solar Panels were lost when their precious circuitry became overheated and melted. Those which landed on the core itself, were lost because the sheer heat of the core melted their tiny, delicate bodies, which were unable to withstand the heat of the core.

Every time they came in here to clean and maintain these panels, there were casualties, losses. Not one clean and maintenance run for the Solar Core ever went perfectly, despite the ANT's best efforts. It was expected, thus why they were given so much priority, it was needed to replace the losses they incurred each run.

It took an hour for the division to finish the job, but thanks to their efforts the Panels were working at peak performance. No malfunctions were reported by the maintenance company among the panels, and all the other divisions reported full cleaning and usage of their chemicals.

However, as they formed up to leave, there were noticeable gaps in the formations. Multiple holes could be seen in each square.

The ANT Commanders reported a loss of fourteen percent of their numbers, a smaller number compared to the last run, but reported a loss of seven Command ANT drones, the highest number they've ever lost.

Still, they marched out of the Core Room in formation, heading back to recharge and await replacements.

It would be three days before they would be rescheduled to return, and they would once again run the dangerous risk of cleaning the Solar Panels.

'_**Bing Bong Bing Bong Bing Bong'**_


	18. Chapter 17

The Imperator 2 You - This is almost 20k words long… I hope you enjoy this chapter… I'm exhausted as fluff

.

_Take this feeling, make it grow…_

_Never let it, never let it go…_

_You gave me something that I can believe in…_

_Don't let, go of this moment in time…_

_I can't explain the things that I'm feeling, no I won't let go…_

Chapter 17 – The Gala De la Terre

(Jeremy's PoV)

**[Jeremy, how many times do we have to keep having this conversation?]**

He sighed sheepishly as Ema took his vitals and scanned his body for nutritional supplements and once again, discovered that his protein levels were lower than normal. He had 'tried' eating more meat, but it was very hard to eat 'meat' when the mammal who is letting you live with them is an herbivore, or more commonly known as a 'prey' mammal. He didn't want to make Gazelle feel uncomfortable with him asking for 'meat' when she doesn't eat it by nature.

"I know, eat more meat…" He muttered.

**[We're going to have this conversation every time you come into my medical bay.]** She chided him while putting a syringe full of 'protein' into his arm. **[These protein supplements aren't meant to be used regularly, I don't care if Gazelle only eats leaves 'you' are not a vegetarian by choice, and you aren't eating enough protein rich 'vegetables' and 'fruits' to avoid eating meat. Now I don't care how you do it, starting next week you are to eat at least 'two' servings of meat, lunch, breakfast, dinner, I do not care, just get some 'meat' into your systems!]**

The giant mechanical spider injected him with the protein supplement and finished taking his vitals.

**[Your systems have settled down, and I've finished analyzing your disease in relationship to your body. Frankly I'm impressed my logic circuits haven't exploded with the fact that your body has managed to not only 'accept' your Cryogenetic Sclerosis, but that its still functioning normally 'despite' having permafrost embedded in almost every single blood cell and blood vein.]** She stated. **[Then again, you're only the seventeenth case in the history of humanity of Cryogenetic Sclerosis. All the others died shortly afterwards because doctors didn't understand how it worked or was activated. Naturally I've catalogued your case for record purposes.]**

"Thanks… I guess…" He muttered quietly.

Hearing his tone, she stepped over him to look optic to eye. **[What's wrong?]**

"Nothing Ema, I'm fine…" He said, moving to get up.

Instead Ema held him down with one leg while the other seven held her up or began grabbing vials from the nearby Biobeds. For the last few days Ema has been working nonstop using the materials Mayor Lioness has been sending her to research, develop, and cure diseases and cancers. So far, she's finished only the two samples of Cancer, but that was only because she was focusing on each cancer or disease she was sent, cataloguing and cultivating samples so she could tackle them into the ground. With all the blood samples she's been sent as well, she's been developing a Mammal Medical Database, using the blood samples to understand and research every species and subspecies of mammal on the planet.

She developed a 'true' cure and vaccine for the Type S and T Rabes that Mayor Lioness announced 'dead', stating that she was unsatisfied with how the 'general sample' she tested performed, and was unsatisfied that she only had a few samples of mammals to test it on, and so spent the next twenty hours perfecting them. Once she's finished cataloguing every species she can, she will start to research and develop the cures and vaccines to the diseases she's been given. She informed the Mayor that, despite her knowledge, experience, and all the power she has being a B.W.S. Class Medical Drone, it will 'still' take her some time to cure 'everything', however if a particular species need is dire, or a mammal's life hangs in the balance, she will develop a quick solution to cure that mammal of whatever is plaguing them, though it will not work for the rest of mammalkind because of how limited time she had to develop it.

**[Jeremy, I've known you since you were birthed, considering I helped birth you.]** She stated in a semi-serious, more somber tone. **[I know when your hiding something from me, spit it out. As a drone, I don't care about your feelings, I have a job to do, regardless of your species status.]** Then she used that one leg she was using to hold him down and instead wrapped it around his shoulder. **[But… as I'm 'like' family… because I've watched you grow up almost 'every day' you've been active… I'm here to listen to you.]**

He sighed as he thought how to explain it to the drone. "Tomorrow is Gazelle's 'big party' that she's invited me to… and I just do not know how to act there." He said quietly. "She's all excited, especially after you agreed to help mammals with their diseases and cancers, develop synthetic organs, and everything else…"

**[You mean 'you' helped them.]** Ema stated. **[Remember, I'm a drone, I couldn't have cared less for those mammals or their problems, let them solve their issues that's not my job. I help because 'you' woke me up, you told to help them, and you gave me a reason 'to' help them. If not for you, I would have been stuck as a curled-up ball and remained offline.]**

"Yea… but she's so excited to introduce me to her friends, help me get to know other mammals… and… I don't know how to act." He said. "I wasn't 'trained' to go to parties… what am I supposed to do? What if I embarrass her or somemammal thinks I'm 'weird' or something?"

**[Well, it's a good thing I'm a medical drone then, because I have no idea how to help you there.]** She stated, before a ringing sounded over the intercom. **[Though on that note, off you go, your 'dance lessons' with Aelita are calling.]**

"How did you know Aelita was giving me dance lessons?"

**[Because Aelita is a category '10' AI.]** Ema said as he began to leave. **[She warned me to let you go when she called. That 'ring' was her calling me.]**

He shook his head in amusement as he left Ema's medical bay and headed to the Holo Room for his dancing lesson. For the past few days she's been teaching him basic dancing lessons and dinner etiquette, and table manners. He just wanted to impress her and show all her friends that he wasn't able to act 'formal' at something important like this dinner party. He knew that Gazelle was a big name, so to be 'her' guest, he had to try to impress to show that she chose right for a guest.

A few minutes later he walked into the room and over to where Aelita was standing next to his gear.

"Alright, let's get back to it!" He said eagerly, putting everything on. "Only tonight and maybe tomorrow left to train to impress everyone!"

Aelita giggled at that, before creating a picture of Gazelle with one hand, and a picture of the Tiger Brothers with the other. She smirked as she pointed them out to him, giggling the entire time.

"Oh, shush you!" He muttered with a blush while putting on the headset. "Can we just begin please?"

She nodded spun in a circle, growing in size as her white gown twirled around her in a wave of lights so that she could stand just below his height.

"Just asking again, why do you insist on teaching me to dance while still looking like a child instead of as an adult?" He asked the AI, as she had not changed her appearance in the slightest, only growing in size.

She just shrugged and snapped her fingers, causing a voice to say, [Now Playing, 'As The World Falls Down'…]

She smiled and held her arms out, inviting him to hold her by the waist with one and her outstretched hand with the other.

"**There's such a sad love… deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel…"**

He breathed in deep and held Aelita, and slowly began to twirl and stride around the room. This was the easy part, because 'she' was leading him to show him how to waltz.

"**I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll spin you valentine evenings, though we're strangers till now…"**

She nodded to him and let him take the lead now, and slowly he began to roam around the room with her.

After a while he tried out the dance lesson from yesterday, and let her waist go to send her in a light spin which brought her free hand to his free hand, and shifted the positions so that he used the other hand to guide her now, roaming around the room to the music. She smiled as he performed it perfectly, though he still stumbled 'slightly' because he made a misstep and almost stepped on her foot.

Then she pushed a little closer to him and smiled while resting her cheek on his chest, slowly swaying with him in time with the music.

The music ended and he bowed to her, as she smiled back with a bow. "Thanks, Aelita… though I still don't think I mastered it." He muttered, remembering how he almost stepped on her foot.

She waved her hand dismissively before snapping her fingers again, and reappeared as her normal self, only this time with a table and set of silverware for him to use.

"Okay… let me see if I remember how to do this." He muttered as he sat down in the chair and stared at the dinner table. "So… first off farthest spoon on the right, also happens to be the biggest is the soup spoon… obviously used for 'soup'… right?"

She nodded.

"Then the 'dinner' knife is used to… help cut meats, right?"

She nodded with a smile.

"Okay, and then starting with the forks on the left is the dessert fork, right?"

She shook her head.

"No… uh… that's the middle right?"

Aelita shook her head again.

"No… no that's the dinner fork that's used for the main course served, so then this is the 'salad' fork, right?" He asked holding up the right most fork.

She giggled and shook her head that no, that it wasn't.

"Then by process of elimination this is the salad fork and what I've been talking about is the 'desert' fork." He muttered feebly. "Plates are… bowl is obviously for soup, and this is the service plate."

She nodded proudly at him.

"And when it comes to eating and drinking, drinks are on the left… no they're on the right… left?"

She planted the cup on his right.

"How am I going to remember all this when its time?" He muttered. "Then I've got to learn how to make conversation, how to address people… and napkin placement, aren't I supposed to fold it diamond shaped and place it on my lap? Or… or is it square shaped and it stays on the table on my left… or is it under the plate so its…"

Aelita stopped him with her hand and covered his face with a shake of her head. She pointed at the dinner stuff and shook her head, then pointed at himself and shook her head again, before smiling and placing both hands on her heart and nodding.

"I know but… I don't want to disappoint Gazelle or embarrass her Aelita." He said sheepishly. "She's so hyped about this party, and I want her to have a good time… I don't want to make her regret inviting me. She's a big pop idol, a singer, a model… and I'm just… a human."

He sighed as he thought about that.

"Take away the technology I have access to, remove the drones… the fact that I'm the last of my kind… and what am I?" He muttered. "Just a human… nothing special, not when compared to 'her'. She's a singer, she's an idol, she's loved by every mammal in Zootopia, all I did was take advantage of… well 'you' and Ema and everything. I just want to show I'm… someone… that I can 'be' someone."

She smirked at him before shaking her head in amusement.

"**Put your makeup on, get your nails done, curl your hair, run the extra mile, keep it slim so they like you… do they like you?"** She sang while she created a mirror for herself and pretended to 'pretty' herself up. **"Get your sexy on, don't be shy girl, take it off, this is what you want, to belong so they like you… do you like you?"**

As she sang her mirror self-changed into that of a very pretty woman, with beautiful lips, smooth and shiny skin with prominent eyebrows and sparklingly silky hair, wearing a beautiful red gown that clung loosely to her body. Yet as she beheld her image she frowned and shook her head.

"**You don't have to try so hard; you don't have to give it all away, you just have to get up, get up, get up, you don't have to change a single thing…" **She sang while looking at him with her reflection. **"You don't have to try, try, try, try… You don't have to try, try, try, try…. You don't have to try, try, try, try… you don't have to try… you don't have to try!"**

She walked over to the table and her mirror-self followed, creating a dinner table and even a 'party' behind her whereas he sat alone. Her mirror image sat down and picked up a cup with wine, pretended to converse and smile.

"**Get your shopping on, at the mall, max your credit cards, you don't have to choose, buy it all so they like you… do they like you?"** She sang while he was focused on her mirror image. **"Wait a second, why should you care what they think of you, when you're all alone, by yourself… do you like you? Do you like you?"**

Her mirror-self looked at him before frowning and shaking her head, before looking down at herself with a shake of her head. Then she stood up and started removing all the things that she'd put on, returning to 'plain Aelita' as she was, just a childish girl with a simple white gown and walking barefoot. She smiled and twirled happily, and danced silly in the mirror, not caring that she didn't fit in with the 'formal guests' behind her.

"**Take your makeup off, let your hair down, take a breath, look into the mirror at yourself… do you like you?"** She sang as she brought his attention to the 'real' Aelita now, holding him with both hands and a smile on her face. **"Cause I like you…"**

She let him go before using the holo room to create a flower, a lily by the looks of it, and then decorated it with gold and diamonds, rubies and sapphires, then pointed to him and then the flower. She shook her head with a smile and returned the flower to what it was before nodding in approval.

"I'm trying to become a gilded lily huh?" He whispered to her which caused her to nod. "Just, be who I am and forget the others?"

She nodded happily, before making the selfie image of Gazelle and then another image of Jeremy that was being used to spread around the Mammal's interweb. She doctored it up to make him look 'different' and shook her head, before reverting it and putting the two together, only changing it again to make them look like they were dancing, Gazelle in a simple white dress like hers, and Jeremy in a simple black suit dancing. She smiled and held the image to her heart, as if she were remembering a wonderful memory.

"She doesn't want to go with me because I'm famous or important, she's going with me to this party because she wants to spend time with me." He repeated, getting the message. "I know, it's just…" He sighed as he just wasn't sure of how to say it.

She nodded in understanding before pretending to look embarrassed, but then stood straight, crossed her arms and looked proudly before her.

"Your right, don't worry about what other mammals say, I'm not going to this party to impress anyone, I'm going to enjoy some company and have a good time!" He said with a smile.

She clapped happily before snapping her fingers and making the table and silverware disappear and creating the music again. She assumed the position and invited him to dance again.

"But first… get the 'Waltz' down… so I don't step on her foot!" He chuckled in understanding.

She nodded in agreement, and within moments he was once again doing the slow dance, practicing it so that he wouldn't make any mistakes again when it came time to 'really' dance.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"Well I'm glad that your happy to hear that I've decided to attend the big premier party Sable." Gazelle said over the phone as she stepped inside her limo.

Today was a very busy day for her, finishing up recording a soundtrack for her latest album had been very taxing and she was looking forward to a nice relaxing dinner with Jeremy and maybe even Aelita. She only had Moe to drive her today since it was only a recording day for her, though before she arrived at the record studio, she stopped by Sabre's Clothing Store and picked up Jeremy's suit and her custom designed dress.

Once again, her friend had worked his magic with the outfits. Jeremy's suit was a more traditional three-piece outfit, with white shirt and back light jacket with velvet leather and matching pants, with extra padding making it slightly heavier but warmer to help with his disease. For Sabre's pizzazz he had sewed the image of a pair of fluffy wings curled inward and keeping a ball of orange shielded.

Her dress on the other hand, was more extravagant, a white short sleeved ballroom dress with a cut on the side and flowed in the back down to her ankles while the front end cut right to her knees. For the 'typical Sabre flare' that her friend added, it was trimmed with lace along the sleeves and edges while the front had beads embedded along the chest area in the shape of a pair of feathery wings spread wide as if in flight.

She had 'loved' both outfits, and when asked about the wings, Sabre simply responded, "Why, for Zootopia's two angels of course! The 'Angel with Horns' going to a party with the 'Angel without Fur', what better design choice?"

The 'angels' of Zootopia, she'd had that name for a while simply for speaking out and being a good mammal. Yet to find out that Mammals were calling Jeremy the 'Angel without Fur' caused a smile in her. After what he had done, waking up Ema and creating the arrangement between the drone and mammalkind to cure diseases and cancers, for free…

She couldn't think of a better or more fitting name.

"_Well it's about time Gazelle~!"_ Sable said over the phone as Moe started the limo up. _"So, since you decided to go would you like to go with me? I still haven't been able to find a guest!"_

'_Yea I bet you haven't…'_ She thought with a roll of her eyes. "Sable, you know I 'also' got an invite. Just because you have a leading role in the movie and I only sang the theme song and had like… four seconds of screen time, doesn't mean I didn't get an invite either."

"_Yea but still…"_ Sable said. _"We'd look like suuuuch a cute couple at the party is all I'm saying, think of what the fans would say~! They'd be gossiping for weeks about us! Paparazzi would go nuts!"_

'_And that's probably what you want…'_ She thought grudgingly. "I know… but I don't need anymore rumors or cameras trying to catch me in public, I have that enough!"

Her limo pulled out of the parking lot and began the trek to the base entrance, as it rolled, she just imagined a quiet dinner with Jeremy, a nice talk and maybe a few laughs about weird stuff that happened to him or her. But of course, her thoughts were being interrupted by Sable who she just couldn't tell him to 'buzz off' and leave her alone as well as tell him straight up to stop asking her out. She didn't really 'mind' him or hate him, he was after all a decent enough Antelope, but he just was so full of himself sometimes.

"_Well who else are you planning to go with, there aren't that many mammals going that I don't know of."_ He said in minor confusion. _"Everymammal I've talked to is bringing someone big or popular, you're like the only one who hasn't picked a guest… well besides me~! Don't tell me your thinking of coming alone girl."_

She sighed and finally decided to drop the bombshell on him, she was getting tired of talking to him anyway. She didn't intend to go to the party to begin with, but after Jeremy appeared, she thought it would be a great way to introduce him and get him more comfortable around mammals.

"Look Sable, I'm sorry to say it but I already have a guest I'm bringing." She said.

"_You do, who is it?"_ He asked incredulously, right as her phone beeped about a text message. _"Is it one of your backup dancers?"_

She looked at the message and smiled, seeing it from Aelita, the text said {Dear Gazelle, I know you might be planning a dinner at home, but as tomorrow is the big party I think this is a special occasion that warrants eating out~! I would love to sing again at that karaoke restaurant again, just saying. : D}

"No, but you will see them tomorrow Sable. Till then bye~!" She said with a giggle, before ending the call. "Moe, change of plans, we're picking up the others 'and' Jeremy, tonight's a celebration dinner, we're going to Shooting Star Café."

"You got it!" He called from the front before turning onto a busy road.

Within a few minutes all four of the tiger brothers were in the limo and talking about what they were going to order while she phoned her old friend ahead of time, "Hey girlfriend, yea its me… quick question… do you think you could setup a 'private' dining area for two? Yea I'm bringing Jeremy again." She said as they turned up to the base entrance where Jeremy and Aelita were waiting with, none other than a pair of RAPTOR drones which aimed weapons 'as usual', before lowering them after recognizing the limo.

"Doesn't matter how many times I see them; they look just as scary as the first time!" Donny said.

"Agreed." Moe said.

Within moments Jeremy had climbed in, leaving the drones to walk back into the base while they all went off to her old workplace. Once there she led the way and was welcomed by her old friend the sheep who looked to be slightly gasping as if she'd run for miles.

"Tables for two and four?" The sheep waitress asked cheerfully.

"That's us." Gazelle said cheerfully.

"This way please~!" The sheep said to her and Jeremy while a Cougar waitress took the tiger brothers to the 'predator' section.

Off to the side were a number of screens with a built-in doorway that concealed the patrons at the table, so they had privacy. They walked inside and Jeremy and Gazelle sat down, but not before Aelita got his attention and made a request to go and play music and sing at the karaoke. He agreed and asked the lamb if she could do it.

"Oh, of course she can Mr. S… I mean Jeremy!" The sheep said with a happy smile.

Tentatively she took Aelita's sphere from him and left to take her to the jukebox. Within minutes the sounds of Aelita's singing voice could be heard as she began a gentle song.

"**Doooont give up… it's just the weight of the world, when your heart's heavy, I will lift it for you~…"** She sang warmly.

"She's such a wonderful singer." Gazelle muttered warmly.

"Yea… she has every song 'ever' created… in her database." He said.

Moments later the sheep walked in through the door and gave asked for their orders. Jeremy just asked for the same thing as last time, and Gazelle decided to also eat the same thing.

"Right, I'll be right back with your orders!" She said happily.

They just sat in silence waiting for their food, all the while listening to Aelita singing, who had finished her first song and now moved onto another one.

"**I've been waiting for a while now… you've got me feeling like a child now… cause every time I see your bubbly face…"**

"So, excited for the party tomorrow?" She asked.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Sorta… I'm a little nervous." He replied honestly. "I've… never been to a 'party' like… what you invited me to… only parties I've ever been to were the few 'birthday' parties we had in the base."

"What were they like?" She asked him.

"Well… mostly it was for children, the only birthdays we had were for those in the base." He said, remembering his 'last' birthday party. "Like I said… we didn't have much to work with regarding fun times. Not like in the past. But we tried whatever we could to make it special for children."

Moments later Starla came in carrying two plates of food and two 'warm' glasses of juice. She put both down before them but lingered a little bit longer, staring nervously at Jeremy.

"Yes?" He asked, knowing she wanted something of him.

"Uhm… I just want to say…" She muttered 'sheepishly'. "Thank you, Mr. Jeremy… for what you did a few days ago!"

"Do you mean with the cancers? I only pushed a button and asked my base's medical drone to help you." He said.

"No… when you brought those… fancy magical organ thingies!" She said while straightening her blouse. "One of the mammals you saved was a Ram… uhm that's 'male sheep' by the way. And… he was actually one of my 'sisters' husband. Her name's Yulara Bellfloof and she had gone to the uh… other 'spirits' graves to pray for help."

"Yulara's your sister?" He said, not really seeing the similarities outside of the fact that she was also a sheep.

"Oh, only in religion!" She said quickly. "We both practice the same branch; we follow the main branch religion and pray to the 'Spirits of Health'… so she's my 'sister' in that regard."

"Well, your welcome." He said warmly. "I'm just happy to hear he's doing better."

There was a moment where she giggled awkwardly before she 'eeped' as she was called, then apologized for holding them up with their meal and rushed as fast as she could out to get back to work.

Both him and Gazelle chuckled before he slowly began to eat his food. "You know Jeremy, she's not the only mammal you helped." Gazelle said warmly, causing him to look up at her.

She was wearing a very warm smile as she nodded at where her friend had left.

"You did so much more than you realize, not just with your actions." She said. "There are mammals who struggle to make ends meet and getting medication for themselves or even their children like rabes shots is so hard to do, and even then, it's not a guarantee that they won't contract the cancer. What you did… was erase their fears and worries about that forever."

He looked away feeling embarrassed that he was being given such praise. "I only did what I thought was right, nobody should be denied medicine that can save them just because they aren't 'important' or rich."

"I wish everymammal thought that way, and I am happy that 'you' think that way." She said warmly, before picking up her fork and starting to eat. "So, what were birthdays like, you were talking about them?"

"They weren't all special when I grew up… just that one day a year that children and even some parents celebrated in the base. I'm not sure how it was like outside but… we tried our best to make it still 'feel' special." He said, recalling his last birthday and how important it was to him now. "There weren't any gifts, no toys, nothing like that when we were all trying so hard to repair all the damage done. But… we did at least have 'one' thing we gave the child on their birthday… and that was a single piece of chocolate."

He heard her drop her fork as she was eating and looked up to see the look of shock on her face. "That was it, just 'one' piece of chocolate?" She whispered in disbelief.

"It was all we could spare… by the time I was born, we had reduced all of our food options to just a single food paste… we couldn't 'afford' to make anything special because it was a waste of materials." He said sadly, remembering the 'jumbo' chocolate donut the shrew gave him after he replaced his donut stand's sign. "We only made a single piece of chocolate for the kid's birthday… and it only went up until they turned thirteen, at most I got… seven or eight pieces of chocolate in my lifetime, 'before' being frozen."

He remembered one time offering to share it with his friends, but everyone told him it was his and his alone. It was his 'special present', that he treasured now because that was all they had.

"Um… when 'is' your birthday?" Gazelle asked him.

"Don't know, you'd have to ask Aelita, I've been frozen so long that… I don't even know what month or 'year' it is by my species' calendar, let alone yours." He muttered.

"Here I am trying to make a cheery conversation before the big party, and I just bring up sad memories, I'm so sorry Jeremy."

"No, it's okay, you were just curious is all, no shame in that!" He replied with a smile. "So uh, about the party… how are we getting there?"

She took a moment to finish eating her mouthful of food before explaining. "We're planning on taking the limo, as usual." She said with smile. "I was going to hire a Vale to drive instead of Moe or his brothers, as they also are coming but with 'dates' instead of guests. Since they work for me as my bodyguards when not dancing on stage, but since this is a party, I'm letting them have some fun and let them have the night off!"

"Oh, I thought that for these 'fancy parties' that they send out special vehicles to take you instead?" He asked, having used some of his time to read up on some formal parties during human time.

"Oh, some events do that, but since I'm only going last minute because I had originally not intended to go, I have to bring my own car." She giggled.

At those words he suddenly had an image pop into his head, an image of them all driving up to the party not in a limo but in another vehicle, one that suddenly popped into his imagination.

"Would you…" He whispered quietly.

"Hmm?" Gazelle asked, looking moderately confused as she finished eating.

"Would you… be opposed if… 'I' take you all?" He asked sheepishly.

"You drive?" She asked in surprise. "I didn't know you could drive a limo; did you learn how to do that when I wasn't watching you?" She giggled jokingly.

"No not drive the limo… I mean… 'I' take you all to the event in… well… 'my' vehicle…"

At that her joking demeanor changed to a more surprised one. "You have a car?"

"Not… yet… but… I am working on something in the base that can take us to the event." He said nervously. "I just… figured… since this is my 'first' formal party 'ever'… I wanted to make it memorable and special… for you at least… you know, because I'm your guest and everything!"

"Jeremy… I don't know what to say accept… I'd love to!" She said with a smile. "So, when do I drop you off so you can pick us up?"

"About that… if I'm going to get it ready for tomorrow, I need to get back to the base and stay there overnight to work on it and get it ready."

"Oh, I was actually hoping to spend some time with you when we got home." Gazelle said sadly, but still had a smile on her face. "Well, if you really need that much time alright. I can't wait to see what it looks like!"

"Thank you, I promise you won't be disappointed!" He said.

After they finished their drinks and Gazelle paid the bill for her friends' meals, apparently his and hers were on the house, they all got back into the limo and made their way back to the base. She handed him his suit and told him that she and the others would be waiting at her home by seven thirty, near dusk. After they left and he walked into the base, he instantly slammed his head into the side of the cavern wall.

"What was I thinking, I don't have ANY way to carry them all to this party!" He screamed loudly. "Not only do I have to finish that drone model in less than twenty hours, but also construct a vehicle from 'scratch'? What am I going to do!?"

In his hands Aelita got his attention by shining her light. She smiled and held up a holographic image of a vehicle, almost exactly like what he had been imagining, but with her own twists on its overall design. Not only did she have the holographic image of it, she even created a set of schematics and blueprints for its construction.

"How and when did you find time to do that?" He asked her.

She smiled even wider as she transformed into both him and Gazelle eating and talking.

"In the restaurant? But I 'literally' just asked her that minutes ago, how could you have heard us and…"

She grinned even more as she tapped her ears, and he recalled that her holosphere, though small and limited in scope, was still equipped with powerful listening sensors, enabling her to hear and pick out the most muted of sounds within range. She'd heard his entire conversation with Gazelle, and in the few minutes he'd made that promise, she'd not only used his history of the ancient human modes of transportation often associated with formal parties as a stepping point but also created a schematic and design to begin constructing it 'based' on his search, 'all' while singing and leaving him none the wiser.

"You are 'good' Aelita." He praised the AI, who nodded and curtsied in gratitude.

In seconds he and Aelita were in the Command Center and surrounded by multitudes of drones, even ANT Commanders were in the room with him as he began typing away and issuing orders.

"Alright if we're going to pull this off, we're going to need to use the full power and might of the Sentinel Drones and their ability to work non-stop." He said to himself while Aelita typed away alongside him.

She nodded in understanding as she assisted in pulling up the manifest and requested materials for the vehicle's construction.

"While I'm busy working on the new drone line, you will have to take control and lead the drones in the construction work of the vehicle. I can't control their actions, but you can handle coordinating 'all' of the drones together." He said as he finished ordering the drones Sentinel had scheduled for other tasks or were sitting in recharge cycles. "It won't be easy for either of us, I need to jam a week's worth of build into a few hours, and you need to control over twenty thousand drones, most of which are ANTs. This is going to take everything we have to get it done on time, think we can do it Aelita?"

She smiled widely and did an arm pump, mirroring an old poster of 'Rosie the Riveter' from pre-2000 era of humanity.

"Alright then, lets get this started!" He shouted proudly as he stood up. "Drones, let's get to work!"

**[As you command!]** They all shouted in unison while Aelita fist pumped the air.

Ten minutes later as Jeremy began to work on the drone's structure, Aelita decided to start singing over the intercom to help inspire him.

"**I'm in Over my Head!"**

(Aelita's and Jeremy's PoV)

"**They want to try and build me up, so they can tear me down!"**

She watched him grunt and groan as he wedged in a pair of pistons for the legs while trying to make sure the servos they were attached to stayed in place, and giggled inwardly as he fell backward, causing a pile of parts to cascade and rain on him.

"**I wish I could be back there, but I'm writing here right now!"**

She could only facepalm as a line of ANT drones tried to force a strip of steel 'around' a corner and had to take control of each ANT individually so as to get it around, because they were holding up the line of materials needed to construct the vehicle.

"**They've taken everything that I've had to give and… they say it's over but man I'm still here living!"**

Jeremy was wrestling with a tangle of wires and cables as he tried to connect them to the proper circuits, and then smacked his head into the side of the drone's shell as a part of the leg that he'd painstakingly put together fell out. Aelita meanwhile was inspecting the overall body through the eyes of MUTT who was busy welding a piece of filament onto the frame, and only noticed the mistake too late as she was still coordinating the thousands of ANTs who's job it was to cut apart pieces of metal and steel into perfectly angled shapes.

"**I don't know what to do, I think that maybe… I'm in over my head~!"**

She was frantically waving and trying to get three DOG drones to 'gently' lift the body up so they could install the battery cells, but they failed and accidentally threw it onto its back.

"**Stuck in the red!"**

He carefully plugged the optic into the drone's face and smiled, only to realize that he'd put the wrong one in and had put them in backwards.

"**Something they said, makes me think that i'm in over my head! Over my head!"**

She clapped happily as the RAPTORs sliced open the doorframe, but then slapped her forehead as she saw that they had 'also' sliced into the hood of the vehicle's frame.

He tiredly welded pieces of frame together while running the AI patch check to make sure it would function in the background.

"**Over my head~!"**

After a few hours Lula appeared and seeing all the chaos going on, asked the AI if she needed help, but Aelita said no, though directed her to Jeremy's position and told a FOX to guide her.

Within a few minutes she walked into the parts chamber and asked the same question, if she could help him.

"Uh, 'sure'… do you know how to use a wrench?" He asked her.

She smiled and nodded, before instantly rolling up her sleeves, getting down, and starting to help by using the power tools available to her and helping construct the drone.

Aelita smirked at the extra help, but suddenly panicked as she lost focus on her drones and that was all it took for a RAPTOR to overextend its plasma cutting arm and saw off a portion of the drive train.

"**I've got to get away from here, and it couldn't be too soon! Cause I see the stars are here with me, like rockets to the moon!"**

After Lula got over the nervousness of working alongside the human, she was eventually shown what parts were what, how they fit together, and even explained how they were to be installed. Soon they were both using welding masks and hard welding the metal frames to the skeletal structure of the drone.

Aelita at the same time was testing out the drive train to make sure it would work, and smiling as it 'sorta' worked, but then gasped in surprise as it somehow caught on fire. Though it was quickly extinguished by the drones as they beat it down with their feet.

"**You take me everywhere that I've never been and, show me the meaning of what had to give and, I don't know what to say, I think that maybe… I'm in over my head!"**

Aelita's head spun in circles slightly as she was trying to focus on so many drones and keep them all in line, but it was so hard despite her vast capabilities. Each drone's intelligence level complicated it as the ANT drones were 'stupid' and needed very, very specific orders that were simple and to the point. Despite their numbers being their best asset, it was causing her a headache keeping them all on track. The other drones complicated that matter because while a RAPTOR could understand more complex orders, it was not a construction drone by design and so had to be 'carefully' monitored to ensure it didn't go full power on anything. FOX drones, while good assassins and infiltrators were poor builders, and at most could only reposition things that the others couldn't using their more 'svelte' design. DOG drones, with the exception to MUTT, were only good at carrying or lifting stuff regarding construction, and so did the majority of that.

All of these things she had them doing simultaneously while 'also' keeping the string of materials flowing to the construction site was taxing even her AI.

This was a project being rushed, and should have taken more time, but they only had less than thirteen hours left, and still they had so much to do. The seats needed to be installed, the drive train needed to be redesigned, the body needed to be painted and smoothed out as well as shined… and she didn't even concern herself with the energy transfer drive yet…

Trying to get her mind off things she looked through the cameras and checked in on Jeremy to see how he was doing with his drone, and smiled as he saw that he was 'finished', but apparently dead tired as he and Lula were both sleeping on the ground.

She paused construction and took a FOX drone, and two RAPTOR drones to the parts room they were in.

As she walked in, she saw that the drone's AI was installed and awaiting power up sequence, and that Jeremy and Lula were fast asleep.

Seeing them asleep made her chuckle, it was just so cute seeing them asleep, even if it was on the floor. They had probably exhausted themselves with working on the drone, and so fell asleep as they finished it.

Using her FOX drone's holographic emitters, she walked over to Jeremy and gently brushed his hair with her hand, wishing him a pleasant dream. Then she leaned down and gave a soft kiss on his cheek.

'_**When your heart and mind are in sync, there is nothing you cannot achieve…'**_She thought proudly, before snapping her fingers and pointing at the two of them.

**[Error, no human children detected…]**

She looked at the two RAPTOR drones with an 'oh really' expression, before taking one hand and typing away at thin air. Within microseconds she had rewritten the two drone's subroutines and 'forced' them to mistake the two for children, and thus activate their 'Child Care Protocols', a subcategory of algorithms and protocols related to the Human Protection Protocols.

**[Children detected…]** The two RAPTORs stated, stepping forward and replacing their sharpened claws, teeth, and toes with rubber equivalents.

**[Oh, what are you little ones doing here?]** The one drone stated in a sweet motherly voice, bending down and gently picking up Jeremy to carry him bridal style. **[This is not where little ones sleep, you two should be asleep in your nice soft, cozy warm, blanket covered beds…]**

**[Let's go JI-401, these two are past their bedtime!]** The other said in just as sweet a motherly voice as the first did. **[Little darlings fell asleep when playing 'builder'… off to bed we go!]**

She giggled so much inside as the two RAPTORs walked out to take them to their preassigned rooms, cooing and humming lullabies as they went.

After she had her laugh though, she looked at the drone and smiled, marveling at its simplistic nature yet complex structure. It stood proud and tall, a symbol of humanity's strength and genius. Though it was not alive, nor was it 'sentient' like she was, it nonetheless was a miracle of her creators. Only a 'creator species' could possibly create and design something like that, and she was proud to have nudged Jeremy into building it.

She sighed as she had her FOX return to the Command Center with her holosphere, and upon her arrival she once again tapped into the AI of every drone waiting for her commands. With a snap of her fingers they all resumed work.

Jeremy had finished his job, now she would finish hers.

The next day passed as all days passed, and soon the time for the party was almost upon them. Aelita helped Jeremy into his suit after he cleaned and prepped himself. Their mode of transport was shined and ready to go, Aelita having pushed herself to get it done with time to spare for one last dance lesson.

"Okay… how do I look?" Jeremy asked as he finished adjusting his suit.

Aelita looked at him and curled her fingers around her chin as if judging him, before she pretended to squeal and pinch his cheeks.

"Oh, leave me alone you." He replied to her teasing. "Alright… let's get this show on the road, we're just a few minutes behind schedule!"

He climbed into the front seat while Aelita and her FOX drone hopped onto the front hood where a raised platform was situated for them. She created a holographic top hat and placed it on her head before signaling him with a thumbs up.

"Move out, destination… Gazelle Residence!" He declared.

**[Moving Out…]** The drone stated in a low tone, before marching forward and out of the tunnel.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"Oh, I can't wait to see the movie Gazelle, I hear you made a great background character!" Donny's date chuckled.

"Yes, I screamed quite well for all of four seconds as an explosion sounded!" She giggled to the Tigress.

"Speaking of the party, when 'are' we going?" Moe called while he and his brothers were playing their game again.

"We're waiting on Jeremy to come pick us up." Gazelle said.

"Jeremy, you mean Mr. 'Angel without Fur'?" The Cougar waitress from her old workplace asked excitedly. "Are we going in some fancy flying car? Oh, I hope we go flying to the party, that would SO shut up my mother about dating a backup dancer!"

"Don't take it personal Franky, Jess's stupid mom just thinks she can do better!" A Cheetah said with a laugh. "Gazelle is Jeremy your 'date' to this party, is that why you decided to finally go after being invited over four weeks ago dear?"

"Oh, that would be 'soooo' romantic… Jeremy the 'Angel without Fur', the last of his kind, rescued by Gazelle, falls in love with Zootopia's own 'Angel with Horns'… a match made in the heavens!" Joe's date a 'Doe' swooned warmly. "How happy I am for you Gazelle, he's so amazing…"

"Girls, girls he's just my 'guest'…" She said with a blush. "I invited him before he did the whole medicine thing, just to introduce him to more mammals and get us used to him. It's not a date…"

"Oh girl, you are sooo losing an opportunity here." The Cougar chuckled. "Trust me when I say, a male like 'him' isn't going to stay single for long, not after what he did."

"She's right you know!" The Doe agreed. "My little sister writes stories in her free time, and she's writing fantasy stories about Jeremy sweeping her off her hooves and taking her to space! I wouldn't be surprised if there are females out there who try to catch his eye as quickly as they can."

At that she could only blush and imagine. She knew how 'that' felt being on the receiving end of boys trying to hit on her when she became famous, sure the Tiger brothers acting as her bodyguards stemmed the tide 'eventually', but she still had guys who fantasized about her. Jeremy on the other hand, was a fresh face, and he was probably the rarest catch any female could get if they could get him for their own. Thinking someone like Jeremy might get married, caused her both to blush and feel a tiny 'pang' of hurt in her heart, not because he'd be taken from her but because it wouldn't be 'her'.

Suddenly her phone rang, and she got a message from Aelita. {We're about 2 minutes away, please be outside, and turn to your left ; ).}

"That's Jeremy, our ride is almost here everymammal." Gazelle called, and within seconds they were all outside and waiting.

"Hey look, here he…" Donny started saying before going speechless.

"Oh… my…" Franky muttered.

"That is something you 'don't' see every day." Jess whispered.

There, walking toward them on four mighty metal legs, with a steady walk and clapping its metal feet on the floor with each step, walked a creature similar to a Zebra. It had thousands of strings which displayed multitudes of colors greater than even the best rainbow could match, blowing in the breeze as it walked. It's eyes, or optics stared at them with a light blue glow as it proudly pulled the vehicle behind it, and its glowing tail waved gently in the wind as well, glistening yellow light as it walked and cast an almost angelic glow behind it.

The vehicle which dragged behind, was nothing, nothing like she had ever seen, not even the most glamourous limo could compete with its design. It traveled the road on eight 'spherical wheels', almost complexly spherical like they were balls. It had two headlights that were casting a gentle white light as it moved forward, lighting the ground in perfect lighting. As for its body the design was almost a rounded rectangle but curved slightly at both the front and rear. The roof became rounded on the sides and had exquisitely carved designs of flowers and petals, as if they were blowing in the wind into its body. The vehicle's color was an overall silvery sheen that glistened in the moonlight and reflected the white orb above in 'perfect' clarity. The windows were made of some kind of glass that prevented them from seeing inside, but she had no doubt that Jeremy was inside that vehicle as it approached them.

Riding atop the 'car', as she had no words to describe it, was Aelita perched on a small platform that seemed to have been built into the vehicle's design. She sat next to a FOX drone with a pair of holographic harnesses reaching out and wrapping around the 'drone', apparently to control and direct it, but the drone moved steadily toward them without her directing it at all. She also wore a top hat instead of letting her hair hang naturally like usual and waved at them when they neared.

"Gazelle if you don't get that male before next week, I promise you he's going to be taken before you regret your mistake." Jess whispered to her. "A male like this comes around 'once' every thousand girl's lifetime…"

She had to nod in agreement as the vehicle finally rolled to a stop. **[Destination Reached… this unit has arrived 'on schedule'.]** The drone declared in a low tone.

Aelita smirked as she tipped her top hat toward them and moments later the door on the left side of the car opened up to reveal Jeremy in his suit.

"Hi everyone, sorry if I'm late!" He said sheepishly.

"With a ride like this, you can be as late as you want darling!" The Tigress chuckled. "Name's Lydia, nice to meet you Jeremy!"

"I'm Jess." The Cougar said warmly.

"I'm… Jane." The Doe whispered nervously.

"Name's Pavia." The Cheetah said.

"Jeremy… where did you get 'this'?" Gazelle asked incredulously.

"To be honest… we had to build it all last night…" He replied nervously.

"You 'built' this?" Donny asked in amazement. "In one night?"

"Well not 'me' but the drones did, it took everything they had as well as Aelita to get it done, I was too busy with 'HORSE' to help." He said pointing at the large drone.

**[Awaiting Directions…]** It stated, looking at him as he spoke about it.

"Horse?" She asked.

"HORSE, stands for Homing Omnidirectional Reconnoiter Survey Echolocator, also known as 'HORSE', for shot." He explained. "I based it off a creature that worked alongside humans for… thousands of years, I figured it would be a nice way to introduce drones that are… you know… 'not' combat by design."

"Wait, your saying 'Zebra' ancestors used to work alongside humans for thousands of years?" Franky asked.

"Not Zebra, but a similar looking species." He said. "They've been a part of human history since before human history could remember, do you like it?"

She smiled as she looked at Jeremy. "It looks wonderful Jeremy."

After a while Franky coughed and cleared his throat, "We're running a bit late Gazelle, we better get going if we're going to make it on time!"

"Right, right… uhm… here." Jeremy said and clapped his hands.

Instantly four sets of doors opened up on the right side, showing the interior to be extremely cozy with purple colored seats and matching felt for the floor. Each row of seats was separated by a thin metal wall.

"Fancy…" Jane muttered as the boys let the girls enter first, with Gazelle being helped inside thanks to Jeremy.

Once all the doors on the right closed, the doors on the left opened to allow the boys to enter and take their seats.

"Where to Gazelle?" Jeremy asked.

"Uh… to Downtown Zootopia, The Moulin Hoofton."

**[Destination locked, moving out!]** The HORSE stated, before pulling them forward.

"This is so cool…" Gazelle whispered as they left her residential area behind. "How fast can we go?"

"HORSE can only go about twenty miles per hour, but the vehicle can go almost a hundred and fifty in seconds." Jeremy explained. "Only reason why I had HORSE take us is because… well I thought it would be appropriate for the party. I just wanted to surprise you and everyone."

"Well… you surprised me Jeremy." She muttered warmly as they just sat and watched the scenery.

HORSE marched on without care or concern, moving as it was directed and taking them to their destination. It was a somewhat slow process but what Horse did that the other vehicles around it weren't doing was going at its slow pace that didn't slow down at all. Somehow as HORSE entered the downtown district, it managed to circumvent any potential red lights or pauses in its trek. Mammals on the streets were staring in awe and wonder at their vehicle, which Jeremy defined as a 'Horse-drawn Carriage/Advanced Solar Powered car' hybrid. Car drivers who drove past them actually slowed down to watch in amazement, and she could guess why, a vehicle like Jeremy's has never been seen even in 'Jeremy's' time, let alone hers.

Glancing over at Jeremy she saw him looking out the window at all the mammals. Smiling she nudged closer to sit next to him and leaned a little on his shoulder. "Don't worry Jeremy, this is going to be a fun party."

"I just hope I don't ruin it." He replied nervously.

"Don't worry, everymammal will love you!" She assured him as HORSE turned around a corner and continued, being tracked and talked about by every mammal that saw it.

(Sable's PoV)

Sable stood before camera crews and interviewers who were all talking about his big part in the movie and trying his best not to chuckle.

"Mr. Sable how does it feel to have gotten your 'third' leading role in the film industry in less than a year?" A Fox asked him.

"Oh, I am ecstatic over it." He said with a smile. "Why I actually am planning to try out for Mr. Vincent Van Doe's newest take on the ever classic, 'To the Moon'. From what it sounds like it's going to be exquisite."

"Look at you, just finished one movie and already planning for your next lead role?" His guest Alura Pelt giggled.

"Well what can I say dear, I'm quite 'flexible'!" He joked as he pretended to strongarm pose.

"Mr. Sable, Mr. Sable!" A sheep reporter suddenly burst out excitedly. "Any statement for the 'rumors' saying that you tried to invite 'Gazelle', the number one pop idol in Zootopia to this premier event party?"

"Yes, yes, I did try, but she said she already had a guest planned!" He laughed off. "I still don't know 'who' she chose to invite, I know everymammal here who 'could' be here!"

He still wished he could have come to the event with Gazelle, while Alura was his 'second' choice, Gazelle would have no doubt tipped his popularity points extremely high. Still, having the second most famous designer in the dress industry was certainly not something to scoff at. He just wished she would have told him who the 'lucky' mammal she invited was, whoever they were had to be really famous or popular, but as he just said, he knew them all, and all of them were here at the party.

"Well it is almost time to begin, I just hope she shows up soon." He said as a pair of headlights shined on the road. "Oh, that mu… b…"

He could only stutter as he saw a huge crowd of mammals watching across the street as a 'thing' that looked like a metal Zebra walking on all four trotted up to their street. Cameras flashed and took pictures as they watched the vehicle it was dragging behind it roll to a stop. He'd never seen such a design before, it looked almost 'alien' to him, yet its intricate design and long profile put to shame even 'his' top of the line limousine. Riding atop it was a glowing entity that he'd never seen, but as soon as 'it' appeared every camera crew and reporter went into a frenzy to get a good look and angle.

**[Destination reached, time remaining to event start, three minutes and seven seconds. This unit has arrived ahead of schedule!]** The machine at the front declared proudly, before rearing up onto its rear legs to flail the front to. **[Kreeeeieeeieeeigh!]** it proudly screamed, before stomping the ground.

Then the doors opened on the left side and they couldn't tell who stepped out until…

"Oh, my goodness it's the human!" A mammal shouted, and around the front of the vehicle Sable watched as the human that had been in the news appeared. As he watched four Tigers stepped around as well and together, they opened the doors on the right side. First to step out was a Doe, then a Cougar, then a Tigress, next a Cheetah, and then finally…

"Gazelle?" A reporter asked incredulously.

"Gazelle…" He whispered.

Gazelle stepped out of the vehicle with a smile as cameras flashed and reporters tried to ask questions. She simply shook her head or responded with a chuckle or giggle. Then she offered Jeremy her hand, which the human took, and she led him and her group into the building past him, all the while hounded by reporters and cameras.

**[Relocating…]** The machine declared, before trudging off on its own, taking the vehicle with it.

He just simply stared in awe as everymammal began entering the building for the party. "Well, we better go with them Sable." Alura said with a smile.

"Yea… let's go." He muttered.

Together they walked in as well, but deep down he was 'extremely' jealous of the human. The human was barely known to everymammal for more than a month, and already he was familiar with Gazelle enough to get invited to such a private party? So what if the human simply used his technology to help them with diseases and cancers? As great as that was, he didn't do anything, it was his 'tech' that did it as far as he was concerned.

(Jeremy's PoV)

He walked into the building past all the pillars and guests with Gazelle leading the way and holding his hand. He was acting like a gentleman as Aelita had taught him to act, allowing her to take the lead and determine where they go. Behind him her friends and their dates followed and behind all of them, Aelita on her own with her FOX drone carrying her Holosphere tagged behind with arms clasped behind her.

Gazelle led them into the main room where all of the guests were standing and talking, but all talk ended as soon as he and Aelita appeared, and he just felt himself wanting to melt and vanish as all eyes turned to them. There were hushed whispers and some mammals stepped out of their way, even forming a circle around their group so they could get a glimpse of him and especially Aelita, who simply smiled and waved, ignoring how many eyes were on her.

"Hello everymammal, sorry I'm so late!" Gazelle declared warmly as she let go to introduce him. "This is my guest of honor, Jeremy Wilheart."

"Greetings everyone." He said, clasping his hands together and giving a short bow to them all. "And this is Aelita… my friend…"

Aelita smiled warmly and curtsied in response.

"Greetings."

"Salutations!"

"Well hello there!"

Soon the crowd of mammals were getting closer to shake his hands and talk to him. He felt extremely nervous as Gazelle just let them surround him and Aelita, but he guessed that this was going to happen no matter what, and so just tried his best to endure it.

"Jeremy, I have to say its an honor to meet you!" A large sheep said warmly, shaking his hands vigorously. "William Baaath, owner of Baaaath and Beyonds. On behalf of all sheep and lambkind I'm sooo honored to meet a living 'spirit'!"

"Nice to meet you sir." He said.

"Jeremy where did you get those marvelous things you called 'Synthorgans'?" A Porcupine asked him curiously. "I work in the medical industry, own a hospital, Mercy hospital, you've been a patient there before I think, and I would LOVE to figure out how you made those marvelous inventions."

"Uhm those are 'very' hard to develop but… I will 'try' to help you learn more about them when I have time." He said sheepishly.

On and on it went, mammals left and right talking to him and wanting to meet him, some of them asking him weird questions like 'what's it like being the last of his kind' and 'are humans prey or predators'? Some of the questions he was asked were extremely awkward to answer like 'how did you meet Gazelle' and 'what's it like traveling with the most popular idol and face of Zootopia'. On and on they talked to him, spending almost half an hour just questioning him about everything he could think of.

Aelita though by comparison was answering every question posed to her with speed and efficiency that he wished he had.

"What 'are' you?" A Skunk asked her.

**[I am Aelita, an AI created by humans.]** The drone responded for her, as she used sign language to respond and the mammals couldn't understand her otherwise.

"Who made you?" A Rabbit asked.

**[Jeremy's father, he spent over thirty years working on my program.]**

"What's it like 'being' you?" Another mammal asked, an Antelope like Gazelle asked now.

She smiled warmly at that before saying, **[Jeremy?]** To get his attention. **[May I show them?]**

"Of course, you can show them Aelita." He replied.

**[Thank you, if every mammal could please just for a moment give me some space!]** She asked using the FOX drone.

"Oh, this sounds like it's going to be exciting!" Some mammals started saying as they all began to clear the area around her, and Jeremy stood with Gazelle near the rear of the crowd.

He smiled with Gazelle as Aelita waited for everyone to settle in, and then a hush filled the room as every mammal waited for her to begin.

Then without warning, she vanished, and in her place were tiny, miniscule drops of water. These little drops of water floated around the room to every mammal's awe and delight, but out of curiosity one mammal, a Timberwolf, grabbed a floating drop as it passed by him. It changed shape in his hand and became a picture, this picture showed a small boy with a dog, a Pomeranian by the looks of it based on what Jeremy knew of dog species. The small orange fur colored dog was running behind the boy as he ran ahead in a pair of shorts and a thin shirt, both playing on a sandy beach.

'_Who's your favorite boy, come on tell me!'_ A hauntingly low echo sounded, barely heard by any mammal except for the Timberwolf and whoever was nearby.

'_Arf, waaarf!'_ the dog barked, again also in a very hauntingly low echo.

He couldn't tell but from where he stood the Timberwolf seemed to tear up, as he wiped his eye quickly before any other mammal could notice.

All around mammals started picking up these drops of water, seeing a picture of humans in the past, and hearing the echoes of the scene they portrayed. Gazelle muttered to him, "She didn't do this the last time with me."

"Her Holosphere wasn't meant to be so extravagant, the FOX drone's is." He explained. "She's making the sounds herself, but the FOX is creating the images for them."

After a few moments the images in each mammal melted out of their hands and onto the floor, creating a massive ripple effect as they saw an 'ocean' underneath them. Each of their images sparkled and glistened so that they could keep their eyes on them, but then within seconds thousands, hundreds of thousands of more glistening little lights appeared. Within moments every mammal understood that they each had been holding just a 'tiny' memory, and now an ocean of memories were beneath them, but Aelita was not yet done with her demonstration.

"**I'm living in nature…"** She sang. **"I touch, I feel, I cry… knowing that you have gone so, so far away…"**

Beneath them the water rippled, and all of the sparkles slowly began to converge and appear as if they were a single large leaf.

"**Surrounded in silence… believe… forgive… time is running out to make it better…"**

The leaf began to shrink, showing it connected by its stem to a very thin branch, but it was not alone as more leaves were revealed, each connected to that tiny, tiny branch.

"**I hear you call… I reach out to where you are… I hear your voice… the words come from deep inside of me…"**

Then as the first branch began to reveal itself, it too revealed that it was connected to another branch, this one larger than the previous, and that first branch was but one of 'thousands' connected to this larger branch. Each of those tiny branches had their own collection of leaves which together seemed to create a large bushel of leaves.

"**I fly… this sky… in darkness… light the world with hope and belief… I fly… to you… overflowing… all my feelings here the garden of love…"**

Once again, she revealed the scope of who she was, as she shrank that first large branch down to indicate, like the first that it was but a small part of the whole. This first branch was connected to a larger branch, one that connected to the main body of a tree, but this branch had extended outwards, branching out with itself to allow hundreds of these branches to reach farther and farther out.

"**We're together… I'm here… for you~…"** She sang solemnly, as if remembering a beautiful memory that once was and never would be again. **"I was standing in brightness… I saw you… and felt… you smile… believing you and I are always forever…"**

Then the tree began to rotate, smaller and smaller, as more and more of its massive branches appeared, together reaching the farthest ends of the room high above them. But still Aelita was not done demonstrating herself, as she shrank she made the roots of her tree appear, and they spread far and wide in the vast ocean she had created which represented the sea of humanity's memories, thoughts, beliefs, history, culture, and 'everything' else she contained inside of her.

"**Connecting our vision… voice sighs… in peace… singing colors are reaching out to us…"** She sang warmly, as her demonstration neared its end.

As they all watched a silvery disk appeared, and they realized now that she had created the moon, the vast moon which seemed to be only 'half' as tall as the tree appeared. With the tree now fully realized she made each and every single leaf on the tree sparkle, almost blindingly sparkly, as tiny miniscule drops fell away from the tree, but were sucked up by her roots.

"**Clear our minds… we are inseparable… clear our eyes, nothing is real until I touch you…" **She sang proudly as Aelita appeared in her true form, replacing the tree as she cupped the water beneath her, smiling lovingly as she picked some up and held it in her closed hands, as if she were holding the most wonderful thing in the universe.

As if 'nothing' could take away her happiness or love.

"**I fly this sky, in darkness… light the world with hope and belief, I fly to you… overflowing, all my feelings here the garden of love…"** She looked to the moon and cried but a single tear, the look of love and joy not leaving her once. **"We're together… I'm here… for you!"**

As her melody ended the FOX ended her demonstration, returning everything to normal as Aelita smiled and nodded to them. Every mammal remained quiet, but then a very 'low' clap sounded. Jeremy knew that what Aelita had done was not for entertainment or performance, but to speak to them so they knew what it was she was. She was not a singer by design, she was not a performer by action, she was the collective knowledge, wisdom and culture of his entire species.

Everything that was good in them, she was, and she 'loved' them more than any other entity could hope to match.

But he and Gazelle also heard the lament in her song, the sadness that they were all gone… say for one member.

"I could listen to that all day." Gazelle whispered to him. "You have such a wonderful friend Jeremy."

"I know." He replied as Aelita began answering more questions again, not at all surprised that they were so interested in her. "She's wonderful."

After a while several waiters began making their way around the room and mammals began to converse and talk among themselves. Waiters were handing out glasses of cold beverages, wines and waters. Jeremy refused politely, pretending not to be thirsty because he saw they were filled with ice cubes.

While others began to drink and talk, Gazelle brought over a few of her friends to introduce him.

"Jeremy, these are friends of mine, Charlotte Kangora, and Vesuvia Galora."

Gazelle's friends were a female Kangaroo and a female Giraffe, both of which looked similar to their ancestor equivalents in his time but obviously were more 'civilized' and taller.

"Howdy partner, names Charlotte, lovely to meet you mate!" Charlotte said with a 'heavily' Australian accent, no doubt a trait inherited from her ancestor's ancestral homeland. "Gazelle here been saying quite a bit about ya whenever we talk on the phone, and then you's all over the news with that big parade? Man, what she says about you doesn't do you justice buddy, you are a cutie 'and' a hero to boot, tell me your still single!"

"Uhm…" He said with a nervous blush.

"Buahahha, just kidding mate!" She said with a hearty slap on his shoulder. "I got me a guy at home, lovely thing, stay at home dad. I make the dough, and he's happy watchin the kids at home!"

"Charlotte runs a music records label; she's helped me a few times with my pop music career." Gazelle explained.

"More like she helped me, I get my best sales when she puts out a new album!" She laughed heartily.

After Charlotte had her chance Gazelle's other friend Vesuvia leaned down and shook his arm before backing up. He noticed she had to bend her neck slightly halfway just to look him eye to eye, even if she was taller than him.

"Names Vesuvia, I'm a financial entrepreneur, and it's truly an honor to meet you Messier Jeremy." She said with a more African accent, again probably due to her Ancestor's homeland. "When I heard on the news about what you offered, I just 'had' to meet you, and when Gazelle told me that the Jeremy 'she's been talking about is 'the' Jeremy who has given us access to the technology to cure not only diseases and cancers, but even to create synthetic organs… why I was over the moon about it!"

"Now Vesuvia, just cause your still single don't mean ya can hit on our boy here, Gazelle's got first dibs after all!" Charlotte giggled.

"Oh, why… I didn't mean anything from it!" Vesuvia said, lifting her head suddenly in shock and embarrassment.

"Eh hehehe…" Jeremy said still blushing. "I'm very uh… flattered that you girls think that way."

Gazelle however was blushing madly. "Okay girls, let's give Jeremy some space, he's got other mammals to meet and rub elbows with!"

While Charlotte laughed heartily as the three of them went off to gossip and talk, he was approached by another Antelope, male by the looks of it. Behind him he could see Aelita with her own crowd having increased and smiling and talking animatedly, no doubt conversing and having enormous fun.

"So, Jeremy correct, I see you've met Gazelle?" He asked with a smile, but something about it set him off.

"Uh yea, and your name is?" He asked trying to be friendly and offering a handshake.

The Antelope looked at him momentarily before taking it and shaking him. "Sable, Sable Antelhoof." He replied. "Probably have heard of me, correct?"

"Uhm, actually no I haven't I'm sorry." He replied. "I haven't really had time to do 'much'… of anything."

The Antelope looked a little annoyed, but let it slide as a waiter offered them glasses of wine and water. Sable warmly took a glass of water, but Jeremy again politely refused.

"So, how do you know Gazelle?" He asked politely. "I'm guessing the mayor introduced you two when she was doing that publicity stunt with the parade?"

"Uhm, no… actually she, kind of saved my life." He replied nervously, seeing the subtle message Sable was saying. "She just saved my life when I first was unfrozen, and since then she's been helping me adjust to life here in Zootopia."

"Oh… and how is that?" He asked.

"Well, she's shown me around a few times, introduced me to her backup dancer friends… spent time with me when she can…"

"You spend 'time' with her?" Sable asked in annoyance. "How does she have time to spend with you, do you live with her or something?"

"Uhm… sort of?" He replied quietly, realizing the Antelope was becoming jealous of him. "Is there, anything else you would like to know about me?"

Sable breathed in rather deeply before he sighed and nodded. "Well, since you've asked me, how did you find a way to cure 'every known disease' known to mammalkind. Even if you 'are' a legendary species you couldn't possibly have been able to do that in one night, not even a week, all by yourself."

"No, I didn't, and no I couldn't have." He explained a bit more sternly. "It would have taken me a lifetime to do that, but I knew of a faster and more practical way thanks to my friend reminding me of what lay dormant in the base. Ema is the one who mammals should really be thanking."

"In other words, you did nothing yourself." He stated a tiny it louder, enough to draw a few eyes toward them.

"Your right, I did 'nothing' myself… I couldn't do anything like Ema could, not without years of effort and study. She can do that all of it in seconds, thanks to hundreds of years of medical knowledge she's got contained in her."

At that Sable smirked a little and took a sip of his water. "So basically, you're just taking advantage of 'others', letting them do all the work and 'you' get all the credit." He sneered. "Is there 'anything' you've done yourself without the help of your machines, without them doing all the work for you?"

Before Jeremy could respond the Antelope shook his head in disbelief. "I'm sorry for sounding so rude to the 'big hero' of all mammalkind, but I just can't understand why you are getting all of this praise when you've done so little to earn it. I had to work very hard, 'very hard' to get where I have, just to get these roles in movies… but you come along and just 'exist' and more mammals know who you are than they know their entire family practically."

He took a deep calming breath before looking at him.

"Perhaps your right." He explained calmly. "Perhaps I 'don't' deserve this praise."

Sable looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"All I've done is push a few buttons, tell drones to do things for me, ask others for help to do what I cannot. In that regard I have done 'nothing' myself." He said while closing his eyes. "I didn't invent any of those cures or vaccines, I didn't analyze or create the cures and vaccines to Rabes Type S and T, that was all Ema. I didn't create the Synthorgans that saved the lives of mammals who would have died without them, that credit belongs to my fellow humans who lived and died in the base. I didn't research or experiment on the vast medical history and knowledge that made it possible to develop those cures and synthetic organs… they belong to my ancestors."

"I don't deserve 'any' of that praise." He said with a smile as he looked at Sable. "I however 'did' make it possible for mammals to 'receive' those very things. I'm honestly nothing more than a messenger, a courier 'from' my species who gave them to you. Without me those would have remained locked in the base, out of reach of mammalkind. If I had died, they would never have been recovered, even Aelita would have been unable to access them, as only a 'human' can do that."

"The real credit, the true credit for those miracles I gave belong to real heroes, heroes from my time like Jonas Salk, who developed the first vaccine for Polio, he was hailed as a hero. But he instead campaigned for vaccination to be public and mandatory. He didn't want to become famous or rich, he just wanted to develop a safe and effective vaccine as quickly as he could, with no interest for personal gain." He said proudly. "I'm just a messenger compared to people like that, but like him I don't care for money or fame, I didn't ask Ema to do what she's doing to make money, I did it because it was right and I wanted to help. Medicine that can save someone's life should not be withheld because they lack the money to afford it, or because it wasn't intended for them just because they aren't the same species as me!"

"I don't need to become famous for what I do, all I need to know is that I can help somehow."

Sable's eyes twitched slightly as they stared at one another. "You think I do what I do because I want to be 'famous' or 'special'?" He snapped. "I work hard in the movie business to prove that prey can be just as strong as predators 'human'!"

"Then how come your acting like I 'want' all this attention?" He countered.

"Why you…" He snarled but instead of punching him, he instead lowered his glass of water and flung its icy cold contents at his face.

He had only a moment to comprehend what was happening, before suddenly his whole face and neck were suddenly 'freezing'.

(Aelita's PoV)

She was just answering a few questions when she detected her drone act up. Curious she looked and saw that it was watching Jeremy and Sable, and before she could tell him to stop, the male antelope suddenly flung a glass of cold water on him.

Seeing this she screamed **[Jeremy!]** to get Gazelle's friends attention as well as Gazelle herself.

It worked, within moments mammals were backing up as Jeremy suddenly fell to the floor shivering and holding himself as if he were freezing, with them all asking what's wrong and what happened.

Her drone however, suddenly focused on Sable, and she noticed as she watched that its optics had changed from blue to 'yellow'… and then to 'red'.

**[Threat detected…]** It stated in a low tone, opening its mouth and readying its assassination tool.

Reacting fast, she began typing and accessing her drone's information and checked its subroutines and was shocked to discover that it had 'cleared' all three of the restrictions placed on it to prevent it using lethal force. The drone had watched the entire scene that she hadn't paid attention to and saw that Sable had splashed cold water onto Jeremy's face. In seeing this, knowing his disease, and thinking Sable was a threat, it now was obeying the HPP and was preparing to eliminate him.

Acting quickly, she quickly began hacking and trying her best to wipe its memory, but it was too late. It had already transmitted the information to Sentinel and now Sentinel had granted the drone permission to eliminate the mammal.

While Jeremy was being helped by Gazelle and her friends, she was focusing on stopping the drones before they made the worst mistake of their lives.

(Gazelle's PoV)

She quickly led her friends away from Jeremy so they could talk among themselves.

"Gazelle girl tell me your trying to get that sweetie all to yourself?" Charlotte said with a grin.

"Indeed Gazelle, he is as nice and charming as you described him!" Vesuvia said in agreement.

"Girls girls please!" She muttered. "I will admit, he is a wonderful male but, he's only 'just' starting to get used to living in Zootopia… remember he's the last of his kind!"

"Exactly girl, and the bloody fangirls are going to be ogling him and trying to get him in their pants after everything he did!" Charlotte laughed loudly. "If I weren't married meself, I'd try and get that hum dinger to my place and beg him to bend me over and show me every shade of grey there were!"

"Charlotte!" Vesuvia whispered. "I will admit, he is quite the gentlemale, but going that far…"

"Thank you Vesuvia…" Gazelle sighed in relief; glad her friend was being the voice of reason.

"Although… I 'am' in the market for a husband… I wouldn't mind if Jeremy was available to go for dinners in the evening with me. He may be smaller but… he is a gentlemale and, he 'does' have that fancy vehicle he drove you and your friends in… so he 'is' a prime candidate." Vesuvia muttered as she brought her head to full height to think deeply.

Both of them started giggling while Gazelle just felt embarrassed.

"But I'm serious girl, watch out for him, he's a fine male… and in this world fine males are hard to come by." Charlotte said seriously. "He's a nice one, got a good heart, doesn't have an ounce of greed in him… a male like that gets snapped up instantly when they go on the market. I'm sure a few girls would try to take advantage of that, he has a wonderful nature that if he needs to take responsibility, he'll take it."

"What Charlotte says is true my friend… keep an eye on him." Vesuvia said to her. "Take care of him… I would hate to see a male like him used and abused."

She was just about to agree when she heard the digital voice of Aelita scream **[Jeremy!]**, causing her to look around.

In shock she saw Jeremy collapse to the ground clutching himself and shivering.

"Jeremy!" She yelled as Donny and Franky, Moe and Joe rushed through the guests, shoving them aside to get to him quickly.

"Jeremy what's wrong buddy?" Moe asked.

"Jeremy… what's going on?" Donny yelled as he didn't respond.

As she got through, she saw that he was shivering in cold, his neck was showing blue veins as they popped out, and his cheek had taken on a slightly icy blue shade that wasn't there before.

"Oh no, he's freezing!" Franky yelled as he felt his cheek.

"Jeremy how did this happen, tell me?" Gazelle yelled as everymammal was staring in confusion.

"Somemammal get something warm, a glass of hot water, something, anything!" Joe screamed. "Call an ambulance!"

"Jeremy, I'm right here… I'm right here Jeremy…" She whispered as she pulled him to her, trying to keep him warm as he shivered in cold.

Once again, his body was fighting a near hopeless battle to stay warm. The only question was 'how' it happened, he didn't drink any water or wine because she 'knew' that he knew it was cold.

"Jeremy, what happened, tell me!"

He started saying something, but his mouth was stuttering too much to speak loudly, so she leaned closer to hear him.

She snapped up and looked at Sable who looked 'confused'.

"Donny take care of Jeremy for me." She said.

"Don't worry man… we're right here, hang in there…" Donny whispered as he took Gazelle's place and tended to Jeremy. "Why did you do it?"

"I… I didn't…" He stammered.

"You splashed his face with cold water… 'he's got a disease that not even 'HIS' species can cure!" She said angrily. "His body reacts to the cold in a way that can kill him. If he 'ever' comes into contact with the cold, he could die because his heart 'also' has that disease because it freezes him…"

"Well why is he here then if he has a disease!" He countered. "He should be at a hospital or in that base of his!"

"Because it's not contagious!" She said. "The only way to get it, is to be frozen cryogenically and then unfrozen improperly. That's how I met him… that's how I saved him… he was 'dying' when I saw him… he nearly 'died' again to bring those Synthorgans to us… why would you splash him with cold water, what did he possibly do to deserve it? Simply 'touching' a cold surface is enough to trigger it, even 'kill' him if he's not careful and it reaches his heart."

"He… he insulted me." He stammered. "He said I was only an actor because I wanted to be famous and popular."

"Not how it sounded to me." A Skunk stated. "You were talking down to him, making him sound like he didn't do anything to 'deserve' his popularity and praise."

At that she glared 'furiously' at the Antelope, furious that Sable was trying to win a 'popularity contest' and mad that he lost it to Jeremy. At that she pulled her hand back and slapped him across the face.

He was shocked to see her slap him, but none more so than the guests. All eyes were on them as Jeremy tried to recover.

"I should have you 'arrested' for this Sable… getting 'jealous'… over Jeremy?" She stated. "He didn't want all the attention he's getting, he only wanted to help us… because 'we' helped him."

"Not… his fault… please." Jeremy whimpered.

She looked to him and went to his side instantly.

"He didn't… know… about my disease… and I 'did' provoke him…" He muttered. "It's not… his fault… I triggered him… please…"

She softened her expression as he told her, forgiving Sable even though deep down she guessed that he started the whole thing.

"Alright… if you say so." She whispered warmly as Donny came with a scarf to wrap around him. "We're going home everymammal!"

"But…" Jeremy tried to whisper but she silenced him with a finger.

"It's okay… I didn't even want to come here to begin with… I just wanted to introduce you to friends and other mammals." She got up and signaled Donny and Moe to help carry him. "We're leaving everymammal, I hope you enjoy the rest of the party… I for one liked it for as long as I was here!"

(Sable's PoV)

He watched as Gazelle stood up and left with her friends and their dates, speechless that everything had happened that way. How was he to know that the human had a disease, nomammal said anything about it.

"You know Mr. Sable… I oughta slug you for what you just did." A voice whispered menacingly behind him, and he turned to see two burly Tigers glaring at him with one cracking his knuckles.

"Oh really, and I'd love to see how you'd act to my lawyers when they charge you for assault!" He countered.

"I'd take jail time to knock you out for what you nearly did." The other stated. "But I think Gazelle did it for us."

A moment later the holographic girl signaled them, and they picked her up in her little sphere before leaving.

The robotic fox however, stayed behind and watched him constantly.

"What do you want?" He yelled.

Instantly the fox's eyes glowed and a beam of light shot out and went up and down, as if 'scanning' him. It then declared in an ominous tone, **[Scan complete… genetic makeup and identity confirmed… Sable Antelhoof… Status, Priority 1 Threat…]** It then stared at him while tilting its head. **[By order of Sentinel of Eden Facility Seventeen… you are to be monitored constantly as a threat to humanity.]**

At that he felt the tiniest bit of fear as he had no idea what the machine was capable of, or what it was talking about. "Oh yea, I'd like to see you 'try' to get past my security."

At that the drone marched toward him and he stood his ground, ready to kick it. When it got close enough, he threw a kick to knock it away, but instead his leg passed right through it and he fell on the floor.

It simply walked through him and stared directly into his eyes with its own glowing yellow eyes.

**[This unit has already been sent a detailed layout of your home and it's 'defenses'… other units have already begun to survey your home… you cannot keep us out for even a second.]** It stated in a cold tone. **[Any further attempts to harm Unit Jeremy… will be 'noted'…]**

With that it walked away and through the crowd, before vanishing from sight as if it weren't there to begin with.

He shakily got to his feet before looking around at the crowd.

"Ya know sugar, I think ima go home and watch an old soap rerun." Charlotte the Kangaroo said nonchalantly. "This party has lost its appeal now that the 'Angels' have left the field."

"I'm in agreement." Vesuvia muttered and walked out.

"But… what about the movie and the dinner?" He asked as others began to leave as well, agreeing with them.

"Honey I'm used to take out, I don't mind getting something to eat on the way home!" Charlotte called.

"I'll catch the movie when it hits DVD." Vesuvia said politely.

Soon a lot of guests began to leave in droves, ignoring him as they talked about random things.

(Jeremy's PoV)

HORSE trotted through the night, taking the ideal route to get home. Their first destinations were the Tiger Brothers date's homes. Yet as they moved, all he could do was feel like he ruined the whole evening for Gazelle and the others. She had been excited about this party, wanting to help him get familiar with other mammals and feel more welcoming, but instead all that happened was him ruining it because of his disease.

He had since recovered, the vehicle's temperature-controlled insides had warmed him up rapidly thanks to Aelita's foresight in the vehicles design.

"I'm so sorry Gazelle… I didn't want this to happen." He muttered apologetically. "I should have just ignored what he said… I shouldn't have replied to him. Now your whole evening is ruined because of me."

"Your wrong Jeremy… you had every right to feel even slightly offended." Gazelle said warmly. "It's Sable who should feel ashamed of himself, thinking he has to win a popularity contest with you of all mammals. He has no idea what its like to be you…"

She turned to him and smiled.

"I don't mind just spending an evening at home watching tv or just talking… as long as I spend it with you, it's an evening well spent!"

"Thanks…" He said back.

They sat in silence as HORSE moved onward.

Then, he had an idea come to him.

"Gazelle… would you and the others be interested in attending a Gala party tonight still?"

"A Gala? Is that like a human party?" She asked.

"Yea… we had formal parties in our time as well… I never went to one but… you know we still had them." He said sheepishly. "I was thinking… since we're still dressed for it, would you all be interested?"

"I'd love to go!" She replied instantly, her face gleaming with happiness. "What are they like, are they anything like 'our' formal parties?"

After a quick round of asking, all of Gazelle's friends and their dates agreed to join them, interested in the idea of attending a Human Gala. With that HORSE changed direction and took them off to the base.

Minutes later they arrived at the entrance and Jeremy led them all inside. Aelita quickly set up the Holo Room, while he showed them what to do with the armbands and headsets.

"Wow, this is so future tech!" Jess said.

"You're telling me, every time we come down here, we see the craziest of things." Donny muttered.

"Alright everyone, when you hear the message, close your eyes, and wait a few seconds after it finishes the countdown, then open them up." He said loudly as everyone nodded. "Aelita, activate it!"

The little AI gave him a thumbs up and snapped her fingers.

**(Please close your eyes… holographic session beginning in 5… 4… 3…)**

He closed his eyes with everyone else and smiled.

**(2… 1… activating…)**

He felt his hair once again blow behind him and heard the sounds of horses neighing and clopping nearby.

"Woaaaaaa…" Everyone simultaneously shouted as they opened their eyes.

He smiled as he opened his too and saw they were on a starry moonlit night, surrounded by buildings as tall as some mammal buildings. The street was paved, and multiple streetlights were on and lighting the sight of the human city. In the distance he could see the Eifel Tower in the distance, towering over everything and lit up in a beautiful blue gold glow.

Before them though, five carriages and five sets of horses to pull them stood waiting. Each had a human driver and a human assistant to help them into the antiquated vehicles, and all were wearing old military attires seen during the colonial period.

"Where are we?" Franky asked.

"Humans!" Moe yelled as they finally noticed them.

Upon recognizing them, one of the drivers stepped forward warmly and proudly, bowed deeply and crossed his left arm over his chest, before standing straight and pulling out a scroll and unraveling it. "My lords and ladies… you are all most cordially invited to attend the most prominent and fabulous… Gala de le Terre…" He said in a French voice.

With his declaration said, he rolled up the scroll and backed up with his fellows before they all separated to their individual carriages.

"After you Gazelle." He said to the antelope, who nodded warmly as she got into the first.

"Now this is the royal treatment!" One of the girls declared as the drivers and their assistants lowered miniature steps from the carriages to help them inside.

As they both entered Gazelle simply marveled at the humans and their attire.

"Do all humans wear that?" She asked as the horses neighed and began moving.

"No, it was only ever used by a 'few' groups of people, and mostly it was ceremonial or as a dress uniform." He said. "I mean, people 'used' to dress that way, but not anymore."

As they rode in their carriages Aelita giggled in the seat with them as she was enjoying the ride. Gazelle simply watched the scenery changing, from a residential block to eventually fields of green. Then after a while she saw a brilliant light show in the distance, and within moments witnessed a grand and massive building of such opulence that she couldn't even believe her eyes.

"What is that…" She gazed in awe.

He smiled as he recognized the landmark. "The Palace of Versailles." He replied. "It was once the home of the French Monarchy. But it eventually became more of a museum. Sometimes it was used as a big ballroom for formal parties of importance." He then pointed at it with a smile. "And that, is where we're going."

As the carriages moved to their location, the palace and all its glory appeared to them. The great building a monument and testament to the grandeur of his ancestors. The gardens were massive and well kept, fountains carved exquisitely and finely. And as they finally entered, Gazelle could only marvel.

"Your species knew how to build 'big'." She muttered. "I thought some mansions were expensive and over the top… this puts them all to shame!"

"We didn't build like this anymore before the Final War, it was seen as a waste to build so much for just a select group of people." He said.

They reached the front door and stopped, but a pair of servants dressed in a similarly formal attire was there waiting to open the doors for them.

"Welcome my lord and lady to the Palace of Versailles." They both said warmly, bowing to them as they exited.

Soon the others had received the same treatment, being addressed as lord and lady, and then were soon welcomed into the palace itself, in particular the ballroom. As the entered a group of people, VIP's and other guests that Aelita had programmed in for some reason were being introduced by news reporters.

"Welcome everyone we are here at the Party of the Century, the Gala De Le Terre." A woman with glasses was saying loudly and excitedly. "We're moments away from the opening dance and we have a ton of guests and special visitors from all over the world here! Anyone who is 'anyone' has been invited here and my I can't wait to meet some of these people. Oh, look there's a few of them now!"

The woman pointed to a pair of individuals who were walking and wearing formal attire, one of whom was even wearing a decorative headpiece called a laurel.

"Oh, my goodness it is Cleo and Julius from Italy and my aren't they a pair, almost like a salad!" She said jokingly. "Oh, who is that, I see someone else! Oh, my goodness its Mr. Sirus visiting from Egypt! OH, OH SIRUS!"

She frantically waved at a man with tanned skin.

"Mr. Sirus can we get a word?"

Sirus smiled and giggled before calling out "Baaaaaawk!"

She laughed with everyone as they got the joke, but the laughing stopped as people were getting out of someone's way.

"Oh, my goodness ladies and gentlemen who could that parting the crowd, why it's none other than Moses!" She yelled excitedly as a man with an enormous belly and laughing while moving through the crowd.

Then right behind him a very tall man with a prominent beard and wearing a suit stepped up to her.

"And who are you my fine sir?"

"I'm Thor…" He said with a serious expression.

"You're 'Thor'?" She asked in confusion.

"Well I've been walking all day ma'am; you know how it is!" He said with a grin. "Thorton Thompson, pleasure to meet you!"

"Ahahah, you're such a kidder Mr. Thompson." She laughed heartily. "Well since we've got a moment we're going to talk about our sponsor, once again this broadcast has been brought to you by Wine – It's being served here people and its expensive, so don't waste it!"

As he and his group made their way to the main ballroom they were also stopped by the newswoman and her microphone. "Oh, my goodness if it isn't the Gazelle of Zootopia and her friends, welcome to France darling, how has the visit been so far!" She asked.

"Oh my… uhm…" She said in confusion, no doubt wondering 'how' this hologram knows her.

"Play along… have fun!" He whispered.

"It's… wonderful you have a beautiful place here." She said warmly.

"Oh, I am so happy to hear that!" She said back. "Oh, and please tell me about yourselves, you four are all quadruplets how it feels, please tell us all at home!"

"Oh… well you know, it's just like having a brother only you have 'three' brothers who all share the same birthday as you!" Donny chuckled.

"I love my brothers I can't lie; in fact, we get to have such awesome moments… like this!"

"Oh no it's the four tiger's routine." Gazelle chuckled in embarrassment as all four of them lined up and mirrored each other's stance.

All three of them started to sing in unison, causing everyone to laugh as they were having so much fun. Aelita had vanished somewhere, where to Jeremy didn't know but he honestly didn't mind. She had her own plans for this party, and he didn't care, he was having fun with Gazelle and her friends and their dates were also having a laugh. This was all that mattered to him.

They all began to walk with all the other guests to their seats, each one with a carved swan of ice. All around Servants were walking around with glasses of water and wine, much like at the premier party, but none came to them, something Gazelle asked as she sat with him at their own table, while her backup dancers each had their own table to share with their dates.

"Everything here is holographic, including the drink and food." He explained. "To your body it may seem real and feel real, but when the simulation ends all the feelings return to you twice as hard. You won't have eaten anything, even if you 'think' you ate it, your body will realize the problem instantly."

(Jeremy's and Gazelle's PoV)

"Everything is so amazing Jeremy…" She whispered in awe at all the people around her, while off to the side a band was getting ready to start. "I really am loving this… this is the best night I've ever had in my life."

"I'm glad you think that way…" He replied looking at her smile.

For a brief moment they just simply stared at each other, neither noticing how close their hands were getting, or their faces as they just 'stared' into one another's eyes. Jeremy wasn't even aware he was getting closer to her, and neither did Gazelle. There was just something 'right' about how they were each feeling about the other.

Gazelle thought he was such a wonderful, kind… magnificent individual.

Jeremy thought she was a beautiful, warm, gentle soul in his heart.

They just felt in their hearts that they wanted to be closer to the other, and without realizing it they were moving ever closer.

Then the lights turned off and broke the spell they were each under as the master of ceremony stepped forward.

"Welcome all to the Gala De Le Terre." He said with a proud voice, to applause around the room. "I ask you all to dance, be merry, and enjoy yourself this night… and now, may I present… our Maestro for your entertainment… Aelita!"

In surprise Aelita stepped forward to applause, wearing only her normal white dress and wearing a mask that only showed her smile and grin, and holding a Maestro's stick. She bowed and curtsied before turning to the band and tapping her stick on a stand.

"And now… to open up our evening with our first dance…" The Master of Ceremony declared. "Give a warm hand to Jeremy and Gazelle!"

A spotlight appeared on them, the source of which they couldn't tell but instantly everyone in the room applauded.

"I…" He started saying before Gazelle chuckled and got up.

Soon he got up too and together they walked into the center of the room. He looked to Aelita who was snickering and nodding, indicating that 'yes' she had pulled this stunt.

'_It's just a dance… she just wants you to dance with Gazelle that's all!'_ He thought as Gazelle turned to him and he placed his hand on her waist and held her other hand.

"Uhm… Jeremy… I don't know any 'human' dances…" She muttered nervously.

"In that case… let me lead…" He whispered warmly to her.

She looked to him and nodded, trusting him to take care of her.

"Tonight's Opening Song is Tchaikovsky – Waltz of the Flowers… performed by Maestro Aelita." A voice declared.

She bowed and bowed again, before turning to the band and signaling them to begin. Within seconds the music began playing, and Jeremy slowly led Gazelle around the dance floor.

It was a very slow dance, the only one Jeremy had learned but as the music began to slowly pick up, he sped up slightly as well feeling confident. Gazelle soon got the hang of the dance and was soon walking with him in perfect sync.

Then an exciting piece of the dance came, and he let go of her waist to spin her gently with his other hand. Once she had gone a full circle, he caught her again, only this time his right hand was on her waist and his left was holding her hand. She was slightly shocked at that, but soon smiled warmly and got into it with him, following his lead as he led her around the room, all the while the spotlight following them and casting them in an eerie setting in which it seemed the world fell away and it was only them.

Gazelle meanwhile was so unused to this kind of dancing, that she didn't know what the point was, but soon she realized that it wasn't about the motions or the movement, or even the dance itself. The world seemed to fall away, leaving only them on the floor, leaving only them in the light, all others around her were just an empty void. She and Jeremy were alone in this room, despite being surrounded she had Jeremy all to herself and that was all that mattered.

As he led her around the room, she moved in time with him, spinning perfectly thanks to her years as an idol, and landing in his arms with precision and happiness.

As she felt his hands on her waist, and she held his waist with her own, she felt herself edging closer. He too edged closer to her with the music's beat, almost feeling her heartbeat with his own as they beat as one.

Then the music's tempo and beat began to rapidly pick up and they twirled one last time, before it stopped, causing them to stop with Jeremy looking slightly down at Gazelle, and her looking into his eyes.

Their faces were just 'inches' away from one another, and their eyes only focused on one another's.

For a moment… they just wanted to close that distance.

As the crowd applauded and more people started to get up and join them on the dance floor, temporarily blocking them from view of the Tiger brothers and their dates… they did just that.

Jeremy leaned down and kissed Gazelle on the lips, and Gazelle leaned up and kissed Jeremy on his lips.

For a full 'second'… they felt each other's lips… their warm, soft… sweet and tender lips and eyes closed, simply enjoying the moment, feeling as if it could last forever, enjoying the warm bubbly sense that came from two individuals who kiss for the first time with one they felt they were 'destined' to be with.

Then they snapped back to reality and separated with blushes on each other's faces and looking away.

"What a wonderful performance, and now… our next number… Tchaikovsky - Dance Of The Swans!" The Master of Ceremony proclaimed, and Aelita began to play again.

"Uhm… Jeremy…" Gazelle whispered nervously. "Can we… keep dancing?"

He glanced at her in agreement. "Sure…"

As the music began to play again, he placed his hand on her waist and held her other hand, and they joined everyone in the dance. For the rest of the night they kept the knowledge of what they both just did to themselves, and each silently agreed with the other, without saying a word, to not share that secret with the world. They didn't share another embrace, or stare into each other's eyes as deeply, but deep down they both understood one thing.

They didn't 'care' it happened, they had each wanted it to happen. And neither regretted doing it, instead they would fondly remember it for the rest of their days.

(Aelita's PoV)

She smiled as she waved her stick and played the music.

Mission 'accomplished'… sorta.

She figured they had hoped nobody noticed, but she was Aelita, the Category 10 AI, and she had watched the 'entire thing' happen.

She guessed that they were both 'still' somewhat shy of one another, despite her pushing and prodding. She would have to keep at it, but so far everything was going according to her plan.

Jeremy may have planned simply to give Gazelle a nice evening so that she wouldn't be disappointed in having him as a guest, in both party and house sense. Yet she however, had 'other' plans, and so far, everything was going according to her plans.

So, while her friends all danced, she continued to play, and let the night go, for just this one night to forget the woes of the world. For this moment in time, she was their director, and they the play she wished to direct. Let the troubles of the morning come when they come… let the problems they must deal with arrive when they must… for tonight… as she watched Gazelle and Jeremy, her human and antelope…

Tonight, this was all that mattered…

After three more Waltz Musics, she directed the crowd to their seats for a 'surprise song' that they weren't required to dance to.

"And now… performed by Maestro Aelita… Magic Dance – David Bowie…"

She extended the stick's microphone and turned to the crowd with a grin as the instruments changed by the band behind her.

"**You remind me of the babe…"**

"What babe?"

"**Babe with the power…"**

"What power?"

"**Power of voodoo…"**

"Who do?"

"**You do."**

"Do what?"

"**Remind me of the babe~! I saw my baby… crying hard as hard as babe could cry!"** She sang with a spring in her step, walking toward the center of the room. **"What could I do… my baby's love had gone… and left my baby blue… nobody knew~!"**

She swayed and clapped as she pointed at Donny's table.

"**What kind of magic spell to use…"**

She pointed at Moe's now and spun in a circle.

"**Slime and snails…"**

Next came Franky's table.

"**Or puppy dog tails?"**

Joe's table now as she swayed again.

"**Thunder or lightning…"**

She grinned as she pointed at Gazelle and Jeremy now.

"**And baby said…"**

She clapped and started dancing, and now everyone including the mammals started bobbing in time with the music, clapping in unison as well.

"**Dance magic, dance… dance magic dance~!"** She sang before jumping. **"Jump magic jump… Jump magic jump…"**

"Put that magic jump on me… Slap my baby make him freak!"

She sang and sang, made their night, and helped them dance the night away.

She was Aelita… Category 10 AI… she would guide them to happiness, using all her tools. Singing… was just her favorite.

(Sable's PoV)

It was close to midnight when he made his way home and drove into the parkway. He grumped angrily as he thought bitterly about the human Jeremy. That human had ruined his evening. Not even a 'tenth' of the mammals who showed up stayed to see the movie. They just up and left. Those who did almost all left before the movie ended, and the few who remained still just ate their food, paid their tips and left, without even talking to him. Even his 'guest' didn't talk very much to him, she just wished him a good night and left him.

"Whatever… just forget him and get on with your life." He sighed as he walked inside.

As he changed into his night gown, he played with the curtains a little, his little fun before bed… before he shifted them enough to reveal a pair of glowing red lights outside his home.

He jumped slightly as he looked outside, but once the curtains obstructed his view outside, he pulled them open to reveal… nothing.

He shook his head and closed the curtains and crawled into bed. Yet halfway during the night his instincts came kicking in, and for some reason he felt he was being watched. Wearily he got up and looked around his room, saw there was nothing, and tried to go back to sleep, but that feeling of being 'watched' wouldn't leave him.

'_clinkclinkclink…'_ Was the sound he heard.

He snapped his eyes open and looked around, it sounded like a pair of gears turning, having heard it so many times in his first movie in which he played the role of a janitor dodging spirit possessing robots. He looked around again and saw nothing. Then he looked outside the window and nervously, shifted one of the curtains a sliver just to see outside.

Right in front of his window a pair of red lights watched through the window.

"Gaaaaah!" He screamed in fear as he accidentally kicked the curtains open.

Only now the lights were gone.

He breathed in panic as he looked outside and saw nothing still. Fearfully he got up, turned on all the lights… went to check every door to make sure they were locked and bolted, closed every curtain, and even locked and closed his bedroom door, before nervously returning to sleep.

"It's just my imagination… just my imagination." He whispered.

_**[We will be watching youuuuu…]**_ An electronic voice echoed quietly in the house… a voice that sounded just like that fox machine's that threatened him at the party.

"Just… my imagination… I'm imagining things…" He whispered as he went under the blankets, but covered his entire body with them, curling into a ball of fear.

He didn't see the four pairs of optics, all with red lights, watching him from different areas of his house, able to detect his presence thanks to his unique bio signature. Each of them regularly reporting his position, every minute… every second… of every 'hour'.

Of every day.


	19. Chapter 18

_Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby,_

_Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay,_

_And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow,_

_Bless you with love for the road that you go~_

Chapter 18 – The Ripple Effect

(Aelita's PoV)

She absentmindedly tapped into the news broadcasts of the day as Jeremy was being escorted from the base to a meeting with the Mayor that day. Once she had tapped into it, she tuned into ZNN, the largest news network in the city and listened to the stories of the day.

"_Welcome back to ZNN with the midmorning news. With today's stories I am Chuck Hornblower and alongside me, anchor Matilda Leopard."_

"_Thanks Chuck, our first story, last night's 'surprise ride'. As of late last night, mammals are talking about a new vehicle which suddenly and mysteriously hit the streets of Downtown Zootopia."_

She watched as a photo of the Solar Carriage was shown with HORSE walking it, and silently rolled her eyes as they didn't show it with 'her' at the front.

"_While mammals were confused as to where this beautiful and futuristic vehicle came from, it became clear soon enough as the mechanical mammal which seemed to be 'pulling' the vehicle was quickly identified as being of human origins. This means we now have official word as to 'what' Human Jeremy Wilheart uses as a means of transportation, though where the human resides when 'not' in the base is still a mystery as despite returning to the Base's area, Jeremy does not exit the vehicle."_

"_This also raises other questions, is 'this' what humans drove, was this a recent design, and more importantly, what is with the drone?" _The host asked. _"More questions, less answers. One thing's for certain though, it seems that mammal ancestors seemed to have inspired the construction and design of 'several' of these machines as some so far have indeed been based on mammals, with this latest one being based on a creature 'similar' to Zebras, while the others that we know of appear to be based on 'Wolves' and 'Foxes'. What more mysteries remain hidden in the base that we don't know of…"_

"_In a related news story, a surprise to quite a few at the movie premier party in Downtown Zootopia when this vehicle and its machine driver rolled up to the Moulin Hoofton, and who stepped out but none other than Gazelle and Jeremy, and their guests."_ The next anchor said, and a picture of Jeremy and Gazelle walking hand in hand appeared. _"Gazelle had been known to have received an invitation but was 'slowest' to accept it, and some even thought she was planning to skip it. Yet days before the event, Gazelle accepts, and to everymammal's surprise she brought a guest, who turned out to be none other than human, Jeremy Wilheart of Eden Facility 17."_

Once again, she rolled her eyes with a grin, what was the holographic AI just another face in the crowd to these mammals?

"_Naturally all mammals were shocked, and once word spread rumors began to circulate, is Jeremy going out with Gazelle, was this a publicity stunt… nomammal knows, though Gazelle states publicly on her 'Twerter' account that she invited the human as her 'guest', and wanted to introduce him to friends and other mammals. This still hasn't stopped mammals from calling her out and saying she should date him."_

"_They do make a cute couple Matilda." Chuck said with a smile. "Onto another related story, sparks arise when at the party as just a short while after beginning, VIPs and guests began leaving in droves, hours ahead of the event's schedule. When questioned the guests stated they left due to losing interest in attending after a small fight broke out between Jeremy Wilheart and one of the movie's main actors Sable Antelhoof."_

The image changed to an image of said 'Sable'.

"_According to witnesses Sable appeared to have gotten into a discussion with Jeremy, and nearby patrons overheard the movie actor 'talking down' the human and his achievements, stating that 'he didn't do anything himself, and therefore doesn't deserve the praise he's getting'. A Skunk by the name of Samuel Klunk, said that the human responded justly, that he 'didn't' do anything regarding the feats, but instead played his part as to that of a 'side character's' role in a story. While not 'directly' responsible, he still provided the cures and cancers to mammalkind by bringing them out of the base, as well as providing scientists a miraculous substance to research known as 'Biotech Gel', more on that later."_

"_After responding with a rhetorical question, Sable became angered and flung a glass of cold water into Jeremy's face, causing the human to collapse, and Gazelle and her friends to panic as they attempted to aid the human, who witnesses stated was shivering in cold and according to one of Gazelle's backup dancers, 'freezing'. A statement from the Mayor says that Jeremy suffers from a disease known as 'Cryogenetic Sclerosis', which while not contagious and cannot be spread, is such a rare and powerful disease, that not even the human's greatest medical invention, Synthorgans, can cure."_

"_According to the mayor, what happens is when the afflicted human, in this case Jeremy, interacts with anything cold, the disease coursing through his entire circulatory system reacts to it, and within mere moments his body temperature drops to freezing temperatures. Normally this would not be 'dangerous' as he could simply warm up, but one particular organ is coated with the 'permafrost' that is afflicting his blood, his heart. According to the mayor if his 'heart' ever undergoes this freezing process it has the chance to completely shut down and stop beating, and if he doesn't warm up before it's too late, he risks death."_

"_New information about this disease also arose as it was reported that Jeremy suffered this affliction 'twice' before, the first time when the 'MUTT' drone, a wolf-like machine that had zero offensive weaponry capable of doing harm had a standoff with ZPD over a mistake in understanding. The second incident came the night 'before' the Synthorgans were delivered to a hospital. Both times Jeremy's heart froze and stopped beating for all of one minute, and then ten minutes respectively, with the human risking his life to help save other mammals."_ Matilda continued. _"Upon realizing what happened, Gazelle was reported to have slapped Sable and threatened to have him arrested, however the proposal was rejected by none other than Jeremy, who insisted that it was 'his' fault… despite other mammals claims that he 'reacted' to what Sable said. Sable has not commented on this incident as of yet."_

She smirked a little at that, no wonder as to why when the antelope was probably scared, what with the drones watching him every moment.

"_In related news, outcries for Sable to be arrested over potential 'extinction' of humans have risen, but as Jeremy has requested, no arrest warrant has been made. Gazelle even spoke out on twerter asking mammals to not seek 'revenge' against the actor, that what happened in the past doesn't matter anymore, and if Jeremy has already forgiven Sable for this incident, then so too should 'we'. We'll be back later for the weather broadcast as well as more coverage about the newest technology to be released from the facility for mammalkind, Biotech Gel, a miracle substance that has scientists going 'giddy' at receiving the first samples for research and use in the medical field. Until then I'm Matilda…"_

"_And I'm Chuck…"_

With that she stopped watching and returned her attention to Jeremy who had been talking to her the entire time.

"I hope it's nothing bad…" He had told her. "You think we made a mistake at that party?"

She shrugged in response, she honestly had no idea why the mayor wanted to talk to them, heck she's been avoiding just tapping into every communications channel in the city just to figure out ahead of time what the mayor was wanting, out of respect to her promise. She's been keeping her promise since the 'windmill generator' incident.

(Jeremy's PoV)

He looked out the window to see multiple buildings while HORSE pulled his Solar Carriage onward to City Hall for a meeting with the mayor. Outside mammals were taking snapshots and pointing, his transport no doubt getting tons of attention as they put two and two together to realize it was his. Behind his carriage marched a single RAPTOR drone, walking in perfect motion with him and scanning for potential threats.

They weren't being taken by Gazelle in her limo because she had to leave early that day, saying that she had to go to Tundra Town for work involving a new concert gig that her manager was going nuts over. Apparently, it was a charity concert in which the proceeds were going to be for cancer research, but thanks to Ema they have to change where the proceeds go in order to keep the concert going. So, after a quick drop off at the base, Jeremy was then asked via Gazelle's phone that the mayor wanted to talk to him, and not wanting to keep Gazelle late he told her to go on ahead and he'd take his Solar Carriage and HORSE.

He could see that she was a little sad that she couldn't take him, but she still understood his reasoning.

They soon rolled up to the building and after his drone escort, a RAPTOR labeled OK-101 scanned and confirmed no threats were nearby, opened the door and let him step out with Aelita held in his hands.

"Thank you, please stay here with HORSE and watch the vehicle until I return."

**[As you command.]** It stated with a nod.

Leaving the drone behind he walked into City Hall, and was soon met by the mostly empty building, though he did see what appeared to be a lamb running with a large stack of binders stuffed full of documents.

"Oh dear, I'm ganna be late, never ganna get this all done on time…" Said small lamb as she walked.

"Uhm… excuse me?" He asked the lamb.

"Whoever you are I am too busy to talk… I've got documents to file in chronological day by day order 'and' alphabetical order and a ton of other stuff to do and I just don't have enough time!" She snapped while balancing the binders.

"I can tell but I'm trying to find the mayor…" He asked politely.

"The mayor is extremely busy whoever you are, you'll just have to call back laaaaaaaaa-." The lamb screamed as she lost the fight to keep it straight and fell over, spraying papers and notes everywhere. "Oh, all over the floor… now I'll never get this done before quitting time…"

Smiling sadly, he gently put Aelita down and began picking up papers, glancing at them to see order forms, payment forms, and all sorts of other documents, he also saw various numbers and dates as well as labels. Instantly he started organizing them, as if his mind suddenly flicked a switch and his hands went into an automatic motion.

"Here let me help you… least I can do for making you drop them." He said as he continued picking up papers.

"Oh, you are a sweet angel you you you are the 'human' and oh em goodness I am so sorry for snapping at you Mr. Jeremy Wilheart…" The Lamb instantly stuttered in shock upon realizing who she was talking to. "I am so sorry please forgive me; I was just… I-I mean… it was just…"

"It's okay…" He said as he looked quickly at each document and continued organizing them while watched over by Aelita. "You said the mayor was busy?"

"Well… yes…" She said, still in shock as she watched him placing papers into binders. "The mayor is dealing with a few shipping companies and pharmaceutical companies."

"I see." He said while finishing placing the papers in the last binder for her. "There you go."

She gently took the binders from him and looked at the papers before eyes widened. "You've organized every document by month and date and even in alphabetical order…" She muttered in surprise. "How did you do that so quickly?"

"That stuff is basic organization skills to me, back before I was frozen when I was old enough I was tasked every morning with allocating materials for either construction efforts or to determine what materials from what deconstructed drones went to which section of the base, that was of course 'before' I went to my theoretical engineering lessons and advanced hypothetical philosophy course." He said with a smile. "Some of my other colleagues were tasked with other minor tasks like mine while the others were doing other things."

"Wow…" She said as Jeremy picked up Aelita. "Uhm, I'm sorry… uh… your earlier than expected… the mayor wasn't expecting you for another half hour and she's in an important conference call right now so… would you like to wait somewhere?"

"I don't mind, do you Aelita?" He asked the AI who nodded in agreement.

"Oh baaah… I am so sorry that we don't have any place where you can sit and wait other than my office…" She said apologetically while walking with the binders again, leading him down a corridor.

"I don't mind, by the way what's your name?"

"Tiffany Barnyard, at your service Spirit!" She declared proudly. "I mean… Jeremy… I am sorry for calling you 'spirit'… I hope you aren't offended."

"I'm not…" He replied with a chuckle. "So, I guess sheep and lambs all practice this… 'religion' in which humans are known as 'spirits'?"

"Yes!" She piped happily as they reached her office, which said she was a secretary. "All lambs and sheep know spirits as 'protectors of the flock, nurses to the sick, guides of the lost, and caretakers of the forgotten', it's a pretty… broad religion really."

She opened her office door one handed and scuttled inside quickly putting her binders and opening her door for him. Her office was a cluster of cabinets and files, with a single computer and desk for her to work at while a chair sat before it for visitors.

"I am again, so sorry for the mess… I wasn't expecting company… especially 'you' sir…" She muttered apologetically as she rushed around her desk and tried to tidy it up, quickly throwing drinks and cans out before he could see them. "So… while we wait is there… anything I can help you with or… potentially answer for you?"

"Well, why humans… I mean why have a religion based on humans?" He asked. "And why only sheep and lambs, why don't other mammals practice it?"

"I… can't answer that…" She said nervously. "We've just… always known that 'spirits'… humans… just always kept us safe, protected us, guided us, and nurtured our kind for generations. Every sheep and lamb are born with this knowledge, we just 'know' deep down… that somemammal or 'something' kept us safe and cared for us."

She quickly got up and pulled down a strange object that was held up with strings and made entirely out of strings, with each piece leading to the next in waves of colors.

"Our religion tells us that the spirits of our ancestors protected us and nurtured us, guided us and cared for us when no other mammal would. It says that we were helpless and defenseless, but from the heavens spirits came and chased the predators all away." She said, pointing at a faint image of four stars. "These are known as the 'four spirits', the symbols represent a single spirit that embodied one higher spirit trait, and they are the Spirits of 'Health', the Spirits of 'Guidance', the 'Spirits of Protection', and the 'Spirits of Caretakers'. Each lamb or sheep goes through life with a single spirit to guide them, which one depends on the religion we choose to pray and dedicate ourselves to… so if we choose the Spirits of Health for example, a spirit who's dedicated to keeping us healthy will follow us our whole life."

"Oh… I see…" He whispered with Aelita looking fascinated.

Tiffany beamed happily as he showed interest in her religion before continuing with the next row of colored strings, which displayed miniature branches and curling words.

"From these four branches of our religion, after we gain a spirit which follows us in life, we as the loyal and faithful members of the flock, choose a single trait to embody as proof of our faith and loyalty to the spirits who watch over us. These are 'branches' of our religion and they are the Branches of 'Selflessness', 'Positivity', 'Caring', 'Love', 'Carefulness', and 'Giving'. We embody one of these traits as much as we can, to show our spirit guardians and guides how grateful we are to them!"

"That explains why that one sheep had offered all she had… just for some help from me." He muttered to Aelita who nodded in agreement.

Continuing Tiffany pulled the decoration down and pointed at several symbols that all looked similar yet still differed from one to the next. On one end were swirls and on the other end were curls.

"Finally, as a symbol to our dedication to our faith… every sheep and lamb spend every day maintaining and keeping our wool in a specific fashion. We practice these 'roots' of our religion because we know that spirits appreciated our ancestor's wool for various reasons, and out of respect and appreciation to what they do for us, we tend to our wool as they would have liked it. Each lamb and sheep choose to keep their wool in the fashion of their choosing, practicing the Roots of 'Puffy Wool', 'Fluffy Wool', 'Soft Wool', 'Straight Wool', 'Curly Wool', or 'Floofy Wool'."

"Really?" He asked in amazement.

"Yea, I actually practice the Root of 'Fluffy Wool', and I take great pride in it!" She said happily, before leaning forward and pointing at the wool on the top of her head. "Go ahead, feel… I don't mind if you touch it. As a spirit 'you' have permission to touch it if you wish."

"Uh… you sure?" He asked nervously while holding his hand back from reaching out.

"Mhmm, go on… I don't mind, I'd be honored if you touched it!"

Looking at Aelita for her opinion she shrugged and nodded, curious as well. With permission he tentatively touched the wool on the top of her head and felt just how 'soft' and 'fluffy' it was. "Ooooh it's so soft and fluffy…" He whispered to Aelita who giggled in delight. "I can see why you take such pride; it is soooo soft and fluffy…"

Tiffany giggled as she leaned into his petting. "We don't let other mammals touch our wool; it's considered 'sacred' to us that we don't let 'any' mammal touch our wool besides maybe our mates." She muttered warmly. "We keep our wool for only our Spirit guide to touch or enjoy, or even 'any' spirit that wishes it. Sometimes sheep or lamb can feel in their dreams when their spirit is touching their wool and they feel happy when they do, because it means our spirit is happy that we picked our Root of the religion to follow."

"Oh… so… I shouldn't be doing this then." He said as he pulled away quickly, much to Tiffany's dismay.

"No… you can if you want… you see I too pray to the Spirits of Health like Yulara Bellfloof." She said happily. "I'm more than sure my spirit won't mind, I mean… your both spirits and… as far as I'm concerned, you're like a 'living' Spirit of Health."

"All I did was help however I could… I just brought the technology to the hospital; I didn't make them…" He said more quietly.

"Perhaps but you still saved lives, I wouldn't be surprised if my religion's highest authorities choose to label you as an 'Archangel of the Spirits' or something…" She said with a smile. "Can I ask you what were my ancestors 'to' humans? Like… did you protect us… and care for us… nurture us and everything that we believe?"

"Well, yes actually, humans did take good care of sheep and lambs." He said while glancing at Aelita who took on the form of a human brushing a sheep's wool. "For a very long time we used sheep and lamb wool, and I think maybe 'goat' wool for many things. Clothes, blankets, carpets a lot really."

The lamb looked fascinated at that before, _"Tiffany Barnyard!"_ A loud voice called over the phone, causing the lamb to jump in fear.

"Oh dear… uhm… one second Mr. Jeremy!" She said nervously as she walked behind her desk and touched a button on the phone. "Uh… yes Mayor Lioness?"

"_Where is my coffee I asked for 'half an hour' ago?"_ She yelled loudly. _"And did you get those reports filed or not, I have two meetings later today and I need those documents DONE before I go home tonight for tomorrow!"_

"Uh… I… yes Mayor Lioness I know… and… uh…" She looked up at Jeremy who shook his head, already seeing that she wanted to tell the mayor what he did. "It's all ready for your perusal at any time… also uh… Jeremy Wilheart is waiting to see you!"

"_He's already here, why didn't you say so!"_ The Mayor yelled causing the lamb to jump. _'Get him up here already, and please don't embarrass me in front of him by dropping important papers like the LAST time!"_

With that the call ended and the lamb got up and timidly showed him out of her office.

Within minutes they were at the mayor's office and Tiffany left to return with the mayor's coffee, while he and Aelita went inside.

"Jeremy, welcome, please have a seat." The lioness said warmly. "How are you feeling today after yesterday's incidence?"

"I'm fine… I apologize for any problems I might have caused you today." He replied.

"On the contrary most of the 'problems' I've been having today have been in your favor." She said with a chuckle. "I called you here because I wanted to ask you, are you absolutely sure you don't want any charges pressed against Sable for what he did? Even if it 'was' an accident he still nearly committed murder and potential extinction of an endangered species."

"No, he didn't do what he did because he wanted to hurt me. I did get into a disagreement with him and thus… it was partially my fault." He said, to which Aelita nodded approvingly in his lap. "I should have watched my own temper and kept my cool when I realized he was making fun of me. It's because of me that many mammals evening was ruined, and I don't want to cause any trouble on my part."

Once again Aelita smiled and nodded approvingly at his words.

The mayor smiled warmly at his response before nodding and quickly writing something on a paper, before pulling out reading spectacles. "Well, on that note I'm happy to hear that you have no ill feelings to Mr. Sable. The public on the other hand, aren't exactly on his side. I'm not sure if you've been listening to the news, but your disease has become well known now, and after hearing how he nearly threatened your life with a glass of water, many mammals were demanding he be arrested… there's even a petition to get Sable behind bars with thousands of names on it. But… I'll honor your request to leave Mr. Sable alone and not press charges."

She wrote something off before looking at him with a more serious tone. "However, I wish that were 'all' I asked you here for." She said. "As much as I hate to keep doing this to you, I'm afraid Jeremy I cannot just let you walk into public areas on your own anymore, especially areas where a drone is not welcomed or would be allowed, like last night's party. That is why I'm assigning you two police escorts who will accompany you wherever you intend to go outside of the base or when not accompanied by Gazelle and her bodyguards."

"More guards?" He asked in confusion while Aelita just facepalmed. "Mayor… being required to have a 'drone' follow me wherever I go is one thing, but 'two additional' guards where I go when not with Gazelle? Is all of this really necessary?"

"Jeremy… listen…" She said with a sigh. "You are the last living member of your species, not only that but you are also being nicknamed and hailed the 'Angel without Fur'. You are the main reason that 'three' cancers have now been given Vaccines and Cures for, with more diseases and plagues being researched by your Ema. If you were to walk down a street you would be swarmed by pedestrians wanting to talk to you and thank you, hug you, all sorts of things… while that is good it is also a bad thing."

She looked more seriously at him. "Despite the good you've done and are still doing… there are still some mammals who fear you and what you could do, and yesterday's incident just shows how fragile the situation involving you is. You got into a disagreement, and it almost killed you, by 'accident'. And because of that, everymammal is having wild and crazy opinions that frankly I don't even want to talk about." She sighed as she held her face with one paw before looking at him again. "I know I'm asking more out of you, but at least for now will you accept two police officers to accompany you. If it makes you feel any better, they are Zootopia's finest."

"Miss mayor do I 'really' need more protection?" He asked. "I really doubt that any mammal would want to harm me on purpose now that they know I'm not a threat."

"And I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it was needed." She said politely. "I understand you don't want to be treated special, but you 'are' the last of your kind, and I want do make sure your life isn't threatened."

He sighed in frustration while Aelita got his attention. The AI smiled and swayed from side to side before shrugging and nodding at the mayor.

"Alright if you really feel that way miss mayor." He said. "But no police cars tailing me, and if they are with me then I get to send the drone home!"

She agreed to his demand, seeing that even if she said no, he'd probably send the drone home anyway. After a few minutes Tiffany returned with a cup of coffee and in the company of two ZPD officers who were none other than Nick and Judy, the two police officers who he encountered before with the MUTT incident, the Sentinel incident, and finally the RAPTOR incident.

"So, this is the big important VIP we're assigned to watch from now on?" Nick said as he sauntered in. "Why didn't Buffalo Bogo just tell us it was Jeremy, would have saved us the trouble of guessing?"

"Nick be respectful, we're on the job!" Judy whispered. "Nice to meet you again Mr. Jeremy Wilheart, as before I'm Judy and this is my partner Nick… who also happens to be my fiancé."

"So glad she remembered this time~." Nick said with a grin as they each shook his hand.

"You already know me, and this is Aelita." He said as the AI waved hello to them.

"Since you all know each other I'll give you all the freedom to leave as you wish, in the meantime I've got work to do." Mayor Lioness said as she looked at some documents that Tiffany had left her.

As Judy and Nick left with Jeremy behind, he slowed down a moment just before walking out as he heard Mayor Lioness sigh in frustration. "Do you guys mind waiting for a few more minutes?" He asked, to which they shrugged and nodded.

As the door closed, he walked back over to the Mayor who didn't notice he had returned to her desk.

"Miss mayor, is something wrong?"

She looked up to see him there and shook her head. "Nothing, just dealing with complaints and arguing with pharmaceutical companies and shipping companies." She said, taking a hefty drink of coffee. "They're giving me a headache and I'm trying my best to appease and reason with them."

"Why are they giving you a headache?" He asked curiously, and even Aelita was watching attentively.

"It has to do with your 'Ema's' very high demand for materials." She said simply. "The demand for materials she's asking for is extremely high, and it's costing a fortune to keep everything going to her. Blood samples, chemicals, disease samples, organ samples… frankly it's costing too much to keep it up every day. Sure, it may be expensive, and they are demanding a higher fee because of the request, but some companies just aren't interested in doing this for her regardless of the end goal."

"But Ema is curing diseases and distributing vaccines and cures en mass for each disease she makes." He said in confusion. "It's not like she isn't doing anything down there, every time she cracks down on disease and cures it or develops a vaccine, she stores the recipe and samples and starts mass producing them to be shipped out."

"I know… but these companies don't care about the end product… they want their money, their piece of the pie… I'm having to deal with lawsuits from twelve companies that are demanding the patents for the research being conducted using 'their' products. They all want pieces of this pie and they don't honestly care about… anything else really."

"But they can't have the vaccine and cure patents, I already promised that they'd be free to everyone and given without charge." He said in confusion.

"Yes, and that is the most noble thing anymammal has 'ever' done ever… but companies aren't mammals… they only care about profit and growth…"

Aelita got his attention and nodded sadly in agreement.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked curiously.

"Nope… this is going to be a never-ending legal battle." She muttered. "First I need to deal with a few of these trucking companies that are transporting the materials. Somemammal is trying to stop them from shipping the materials and are threatening to fire the drivers if they don't listen. It sucks because the company happens to be based in my old district that I represented, so naturally 'I' have to deal with it…"

"But… what's the purpose in doing that… stopping mammals from receiving treatment that can save their lives is wrong." He said, extremely confused. "If they just want money, then how can mammals who can't afford it get treatment?"

She looked up at him and sighed, taking another drink of her coffee. "They don't care… they're companies, they have to make a profit." She replied.

"Well its wrong, I don't care what they think, it's wrong what they're doing." He said while getting up. "And I will keep my promise Mayor. Ema 'will' continue to develop cures and vaccines as well as produce them to be given to all mammals, 'free of charge'. If they're so demanding they can try and talk to Ema, but she won't listen to them because she'll only listen to me."

Aelita nodded in agreement, smiling approvingly at his choice of words.

With that he bowed and left, joining Nick and Judy outside with Aelita.

(Lioness' PoV)

She smiled a little as Jeremy left her office.

"He's too good for us." She muttered quietly, wishing there were more mammals like him in the world. "I hope he understands 'that's' why I'm so cautious with his protection…"

With that she returned to her documents and resumed working on dealing with the companies trying to gauge her for every buck they could for the materials she was asking for.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"So Jeremy, where do you want to go?" Nick asked as they walked out of City Hall.

"Well I haven't got any plans… I was mostly just going to stay in the base and maybe perform repairs on some of the drones." He replied. "Though…"

"You know we could show you around if your interested, you probably haven't been around to every location in Zootopia." Judy said cheerfully.

"Well have you got a location in mind?" He asked before stopping in his tracks.

The reason why he stopped was because in front of him a vehicle was parked and standing beside it was a pair of Polar Bear wearing suits. Both of them were towering individuals to him and upon seeing them he had a momentary sense of fear, but as the RAPTOR drone was standing nearby, he calmed himself down and just figured they were here waiting for some mammal.

"Oh uh… hey there Kevin… Raymond." Nick muttered nervously. "I don't suppose you're here waiting for some 'other' mammal?"

"No Mr. Wilde and Miss Hopps." The left Polar Bear said politely. "We're here because Mr. Big wanted to talk to Jeremy Wilheart about something important. He asked us to pick him up and bring him."

"Where is this… Mr. Big located?" Jeremy asked before either Judy or Nick could answer for him.

"Tundra Town." The other said.

"Tundra Town… that sounds like a very… cold place." He said nervously.

"We're aware of your condition, and you have nothing to fear, Mr. Big has a special garage in place to keep you out of the cold." The first one said. "He just wants to talk to you, it's nothing serious."

"Well if it's nothing serious I guess we can go see what this Mr. Big wants." He muttered again before looking at Aelita. "What do you think?"

She looked at him before shrugging and nodded at them, then she lifted one hand and pretended it to weigh against the other. After that she shrugged again and nodded once more, indicating yes that they should go with them.

"Alright if you say so." He said. "If I'm going to this Tundra Town, then I have to go in my Solar Carriage, it's temperature controlled and can keep me protected against the harsh cold."

"That's acceptable." The Polar Bear on the right said. "How fast can your vehicle go?"

"Is it important we go fast?" He asked. "I'm afraid HORSE can only move at 20 Mph. If we have to, I can have HORSE disconnect…"

"That's more than acceptable." They said and got into the limo in front of Jeremy's carriage. "If you'll follow us please."

"RAPTOR, return to the base… that's an order!" He ordered.

The drone stared at him for a moment before looking over at Nick and Judy, and then nodding in acceptance. **[As you order Unit Jeremy.]** It stated before turning and marching off.

With that he clapped his hands and opened the side doors for Judy and Nick to enter the second seat while he and Aelita entered the front one.

As the doors closed, he shouted, "HORSE, follow the limo in front of us until further notice!"

**[As you order, moving out.]** It declared as the limo began to move, and it followed along.

"This Mr. Big must be important if he has his own drivers to bring someone to them." He said to Aelita as they moved along.

She looked up at him and shrugged, while at the same time bringing up a tiny holohud and looking up something he couldn't see.

"You think he just wants to meet me, probably missed the party or didn't get an invite…"

(Aelita's PoV)

She glanced at him and smiled inwardly before returning to her research.

She truly loved her human some days, the innocent angel that he was while 'also' tapping into the carriages intercom and listened in on the two mammals.

(Nick and Judy's PoV)

"Why is Mr. Big asking for 'Jeremy'?" Nick asked nervously.

"I don't know, maybe he just wants to say hello… he 'is' a new face in Zootopia and he 'is' a human." Judy said.

"Oh really, Mr. Big, the mafia boss of Tundra Town… just wanting to say 'hello' to Jeremy?" Nick said sarcastically. "Why not invite him in for cookies and milk while we're at it?"

"I don't think Jeremy could have done something wrong, you're just panicking about all this like last time too." Judy muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"And you weren't the one who's tail was on his 'Icing' list, for selling him a 'wool' rug, made out of the fur of a skunk's butt!" He shot back. "We're supposed to keep him safe, that's what the Mayor told us, if Mr. Big wants to 'ice him' what are we going to do?"

She shut him up by grabbing his collar and pulling him into a short but tender kiss. "Relax… we'll be fine." She said.

"Oh, I love you Judy, but I really hope that your right…" He said quietly while watching the scenery pass by.

(Jeremy's PoV)

It took them over an hour to travel from Downtown Zootopia to the Tundratown Biome, and once they exited the tunnel Jeremy had to blink and do a double take as he beheld just a scene of white.

**[Attention, entering low temperature climate.]** HORSE declared over the intercom.

"Wow…" He muttered.

Outside of the window he saw multitudes of clouds all depositing snow as far as he could see. There were buildings blanketed in the powdery stuff and glittering like diamonds in the flashes of sunlight that cracked through the shifting clouds, casting a beautiful and serene sight to him. Even as he stared, he could see arctic mammals going about their business, some walking around doing shopping, others either going to work or coming from work. Along the highway they were on there were signs advertising various locations like a 'Blubber Restaurant' or 'FursRUs'.

He'd never seen snow in his lifetime, not once had he ever seen 'real' snow. Only the few times he had gone to the Holo Room as a kid after his dad reserved him a small session did he get to experience the sensation of playing in the snow. At the time he thought snow was so wonderful, soft and fluffy that he just wanted to go down there and play in it like before.

For a moment he reached over to the window to roll it down so he could try and catch a few snowflakes in his hands…

Then he stopped as he remembered that outside it was extremely cold, else it wouldn't be snowing, and able to just barely 'feel' the cold on the glass of the window.

Pulling his hand back he looked at it and then sadly looked at the snow outside the window and sighed sadly as he put it back in his lap. Looking over at Aelita he saw her looking sad at him.

"I guess… I won't be able to play in the snow, Aelita." He muttered, looking longingly at the snow outside. "It's just something I wanted to feel as a kid… real snow… have a 'real' snowball fight… but I guess that's never going to happen now."

He turned back to her and saw her wanting to lean as close to the wall of her sphere, and so picked her up and held her in his lap while she tried to snuggle as close as her sphere would allow.

"Thanks for designing this carriage so that it would keep me warm at least, I appreciate your foresight." He whispered to her.

She nodded sadly in gratitude and continued to snuggle as close as her sphere would let her while they continued to move through Tundratown. As they travelled Aelita sang a hauntingly sad lullaby with no lyrics, only humming and crying in bittersweet sadness. She sang her feelings for him, lamenting that he could not be down there, enjoying something that gave him joy as a child while being an illusion. He could only shed a tear as she sang for his loss, wanting to just enjoy something but unable to because of his disease.

Outside the snow continued to fall gently, coating everything in a beautiful white blanket each second. Yet inside his carriage he hid and stayed warm, staying as safe as he could while Aelita sang for him and him alone.

HORSE meanwhile walked on, switching the base of its hooves to be more situated in the slippery conditions caused by the snow and various vehicles on the road. It marched onward, unaffected by the low temperatures, following the limo as the Polar Bears rode off the side and toward a residential area filled with large expensive looking homes.

The limo ahead of them turned into a frost riddled driveway where a Polar Bear in a suit was watching by a gate. Once HORSE followed behind and the carriage entered the driveway he pulled on a chain and closed the gate behind them.

The limo pulled over and the two Polar Bears got out, beckoning HORSE to follow them, to which the drone did and led the carriage toward a set of thick double doors. The doors opened up and HORSE marched inside and once the carriage had entered, they closed the doors behind, and then Jeremy finally let himself out.

He was surprised that it was quite warm, wondering how this room was kept so warm until he noticed several heaters placed around the room.

"This way please." One of the Polar Bears said politely, before leading him, Aelita, Judy and Nick into a very articulate hallway with pictures of various shrews hanging on the walls. They led him toward a room that was well lit, had comfortable looking chairs and even a blazing fireplace with an intricately designed picture frame of yet another shrew on it.

"Mr. Big will be here momentarily." One of them said before they both left.

"Wow, this Mr. Big must be a big mammal to be able to afford all of this." He commented.

"Yea… you could say something like that." Nick muttered.

"What does he do… something that involves clothing?"

"Mr. Big owns a few tuxedo shops around Little Rodentia… and the Tundratown Limo-Service as well as a few other businesses." Judy answered instantly.

"Wonder what he wants with me?" He asked as he sat down and waited. "What do you think Aelita?"

She shrugged again, not sure.

After a few minutes the door opened up again and a polar bear wearing a suit and tie walked in, straightened his tie and then stood off to the side. After him came a much 'larger', extremely intimidating looking polar bear walked in holding his hands together.

Something about the bear caused him to nervously lean back into his chair ever so slightly, it wasn't that the Polar Bear looked threatening but, he just felt like he shouldn't 'mess' with this bear. As he stepped behind the desk and sat down heavily, Jeremy was about to address them, thinking they were Mr. Big, on account that the bear was the 'biggest' of all the Polar Bears he'd seen so far…

Then he moved his hands forward, opened them up to reveal a small chair, and then used one finger to turn the chair around so that a shrew sitting in it could see him.

Needless to say, he was surprised. "Mr. Big, I take it?"

The shrew smiled and nodded. "So glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Jeremy… I am happy to welcome you into my home, break bread with you… I hope you find the accommodations satisfactory." He said in a very polite tone. "You arrived a little later than I was expecting, I trust there was no… 'trouble'…"

"Oh, that's my fault sir, you see my drone… 'HORSE' can only travel so fast and I didn't want to take my Solar Carriage without it, the two are kind of a pair, you understand right?"

"I understand completely… I am just happy that you made it here safely." He said with a smile. "When I heard about your… 'condition', I took special precautions to ensure your safe arrival here. And I am happy to see you again Judy, and you Nick."

"Nice to see you again, I am so sorry I missed your granddaughter's birthday, but Nick and I were so busy with work that day." Judy said.

"I understand… I understand believe me… but I am surprised to see you here with Jeremy."

"We're uh… on duty actually, keeping him safe when he's not in his home." Nick explained.

"Ah, now I understand… it is good." Mr. Big said before calling out. "Kevin, bring in the refreshments!"

After a moment one of the Polar Bears walked in with a metal tray with cups of various sizes, several warm and obviously freshly baked cookies. He put the tray down and began pouring a dark, hot liquid into the cups and handing them out. As he took the cup, he put Aelita's sphere on the table, who sat cross legged and waved hello.

"Oh, I am so sorry, I forgot to introduce you Aelita." He said as he realized his mistake.

She nodded in understanding with a smile.

"Mr. Big, this is Aelita, my friend and species 'guide'… as well as ambassador to represent us if… well if 'we' ever went extinct." He said.

Aelita waved hello before bowing gently.

"Good to make your acquaintance." He said, waving to her too.

"I'm afraid Aelita cannot talk, at least not how you and I talk, she can communicate but… takes some getting used to." He said.

Aelita chuckled as she nodded in agreement to that too.

He took a sip of his drink and was shocked to be tasting 'chocolate'. "Hot Chocolate?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes, I heard from some friends that you seem to enjoy chocolate, so I arranged for some chocolate cookies and hot chocolate for some refreshments." The shrew said warmly.

"Thank you so much, I do love it… I just haven't had much of it my whole life." He muttered gratefully while Aelita beamed happily at him.

Everyone slowly enjoyed their refreshments with Jeremy taking great enjoyment out of the cookies Mr. Big had prepared for them. After a while though the conversation began to pick up again.

"Now Jeremy, you are probably wondering why in invited you here tonight." The shrew said politely to which he nodded. "You see, I invited you here because you Jeremy have done me a great service, for which I am most grateful for, and I wished to make myself known to you and to express my gratitude."

"I have?" He asked as he put his cup down and it was refilled for him.

He nodded as moments later a younger shrew came in in the hands of another bear. "Daaaady, sorry I'm laaaate~!" This female shrew said happily before noticing him, Judy and Nick. "Ugh, why didn't you tell me that Jeremy was coming, look at me I look ridiculous! Oh, my goodness I look absolutely horrible my hair is a mess and my dress just doesn't fit the occasion!"

"I'm sorry baby, daddy wanted it to be a surprise." He said sadly.

"Oh, hello again miss, again I am sooo sorry for all that happened on that day, Aelita was stolen from me and she means so much to me and my species." He said.

"Why, I don't mind at all, all's forgiven~!" She said warmly. "Besides I hope that weasel got what he deserved! Kicking that donut 'twice' and nearly crushing me both times? He almost hit my daughter too!"

"The same weasel did that to you 'twice'?" Mr. Big asked, though there was a hint of 'dislike' in his tone.

"Yea, he kicked the giant donut that Judy saved me from… oh hi Judy… my little baby missed you at the party!" She said.

"I'm sorry Frufru… I promise I'll be there for the next one, work kept me busy." Judy said apologetically.

"Oh, don't worry about it… it happens…" Frufru said before returning to her dad. "Yea, and he kicked it again while running from Jeremy and his machine, but Jeremy saved me and Judy!" She said happily. "He tried to steal from Jeremy, trying to take his friend here and sell her, the jerk! Then when he's cornered, he kicks a donut to throw him off and then runs away as Jeremy stops to save me!"

"I see… I think I would like to have a little 'talk' with this Weasel…" Mr. Big said while looking up at the large polar bear behind him. "Where can I find him?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Jeremy quickly said. "He's behind bars for what he did, and I think he got plenty scared enough from my drones chasing him. I doubt he'll try stealing from me or trying to hurt anymammal again. Besides he was only stealing from me because he probably just needed money… as bad as that is… I don't blame him."

This caused the elder shrew to look at him in surprise. "You don't 'blame' him for trying to steal from you?" He asked curiously.

"No… I understand that… money is needed… you need it to survive, I can accept that." He said while taking Aelita and holding her in his lap. "I grew up never knowing what money was, only that it existed, that people needed it to survive. It was just how it was… to get anything you needed money. But, when 'I' was born there was no money, it wasn't important… but people still did horrible things, stole, hurt, even killed for… we just replaced money with… food and water and medicine."

He looked up at the shrew and smiled sadly. "I don't hold it against him, he's learned his lesson, I only hope he won't steal again. He's just a mammal trying to live every day the best he can, and you can't blame anyone for simply wanting to live. If I could, I would help him however I can… but I have no 'money' to give… all I could do was offer advice and tell him that there are things more important than money. That doesn't mean he should forget about it, but he shouldn't go about getting it the wrong way… because how he gets it is just as important."

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard~!" Frufru said.

As he spoke Mr. Big's smile seemed to get wider and he nodded in understanding. "I can see now, why they call you, the 'Angel without Fur'." He said. "I am glad to have made your acquaintance, it is not often that I get to meet such a 'unique' species… no matter who they are."

"I'm glad to meet you to." He replied. "You know a lot about me, but I don't know much about you… what do you do, how do you pay for all of this?"

"You see Mr. Jeremy; I own many respectable and legitimate businesses all over Zootopia." He said as he leaned back in his chair. "I climbed up the ladder, starting with just a few Tuxedo shops, and from there I became the richest mammal in Tundratown. I have many connections and have a toe in almost 'everything'."

"Wow." He said. "Kind of like a business tycoon!"

"A what?" Mr. Big asked.

"Business Tycoon, it's what humans called people who own tons of businesses."

"Hmm, a 'Business Tycoon'… I like how that sounds." He said approvingly. "Anyway, since we are on the subject, I want to talk to you about your base and its… 'technology'."

"If you are asking… no I am not going to give you any patents regarding the medical vaccines or the cures my facility's Ema is designing." He said instantly. "They were made using my species medical research… it was for the good of all, not so some mammals can line their pockets while others die because they can't afford the treatments."

"Relax… relax, I wasn't going to ask you for anything like that." He said warmly. "I was going to tell you to be careful… what you have done is a good service to 'all'… it's a very noble and wonderful thing you did. But as you said so yourself… not 'every' mammal likes what you are doing. They want their piece of the pie, and sadly that pie that you have now is juicy… and they don't like that you aren't sharing it with them. They want to control the vaccines and cures your making… so that they can sell it. As you probably know… if something can save one's life, there is no price they will not pay…."

"I know… I just don't understand why they want to charge such high prices for medicine that can save lives." He muttered. "What does 'anyone' gain from doing that… they charge so much for a medicine that someone needs to live, and when they can't afford it anymore, they 'die'… that's not how it should be."

"Actually Jeremy…" Nick said behind him, causing him to turn to the fox cop. "It's a good thing you 'don't' understand or comprehend why those companies want to do that. It honestly is a good thing you don't understand their greed, and I hope you 'never' understand it."

"It is?"

Nick smiled as he nodded. "That means 'you' aren't like them."

Something about that made him smile happily, before he returned to sipping his hot chocolate. "I am happy that the vaccines and cures are being used as intended, but I wish I could do more… there is a 'ton' of technology in the base that could help but I'm afraid of sharing it out of fear of doing more harm than good."

At that Aelita looked up at him and got his attention, she then pointed over to the corner and urged him to take her there.

"If you'll excuse me for one second…" He said while taking Aelita over to the corner. "What's up?"

She used her hand to create the image of his Solar Carriage and then pointed back at Mr. Big.

"What, share the Solar Carriage's design, Aelita that thing is too advanced for them to even comprehend how to build, let alone 'actually' build one." He whispered. "You can't be serious about that, what happened to being careful with the technology we might share, what happened to the jobs lost, economy crashing, chaos in the streets, exploding power plants?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, before snapping her fingers and focusing on the tiny solar panels built 'into' the carriage. She then pointed at that with a 'duh' expression on her face.

"Oh, the solar panels and the energy transfer drives…" He whispered and she nodded approvingly. "But why give it to Mr. Big… wouldn't he try to take advantage of it?"

She shook her head and pulled up an image of Mr. Big, showing that he had made a 'generous' contribution to an 'orphans' charity'.

"So, he's trustworthy, I get what you mean… are you sure its okay?" He asked.

She nodded.

"What about the Wisdom of Humanity… is it okay for me to do this?"

At that she looked thoughtful, before holding her chin and closing her eyes in thought, once again posing the same question as before, only this time asking if it's okay to share an already existing technology with the mammals and just sharing the technique in how it's used for 'their' benefits. She held that pose for a few minutes before she opened her eyes and stared into him.

She then smiled warmly and nodded with a thumbs up, he had the 'okay' signal from his species greatest moral compass.

"Alright…" He muttered as he returned to the desk and sat down. "Mr. Big, I have a question… you say you own multiple businesses throughout Zootopia, do you also happen to own any car manufacturers?"

"Why yes I do, I own one for the sake of my Tundratown Limo service." He said.

"Then I have a 'business' proposition for you…" He said, putting Aelita down for him to show what he was talking about. "I've noticed a lot of vehicles, if not all of them, use a form of fossil fuel to make them run… by 'my' time, and even before my time, humans had nearly drained those resources dried… that caused massive prices for things like 'gasoline' to fuel cars. However, we had made massive advancement in energy transfer technology, allowing us to power vehicles using 'solar power'."

Aelita changed to show a vehicle in motion while the sun shined on it.

"I see… yes I can see how that is more applicable." He muttered. "What is it you propose?"

"Well, I've been given permission by Aelita, who is 'my' guide… to offer you access to understand some of my species 'solar panel' technology." He said. "My solar carriage doesn't need HORSE to move, it actually is more than capable of moving on its own using the energy it's collecting from sunlight every day. It can run on its own all day using just 'some' of the power collected from the panels, while it stores the rest to use on either cloudy days or even at night."

"I see." He replied, putting his fingers together.

"So, if you accept my proposal, I'll show your mechanics how to maximize 'mammal' solar panels and show them how they can use it to power vehicles." He explained. "This way… no jobs are lost, and YOU Mr. Big… can become the 'first' mammal who introduces 'green tech', and as mammals learn how much they'll save using green tech cars that run on solar energy…"

"Those cars will pay for themselves, just by existing…" He concluded. "I like how you think Jeremy… I accept your proposal."

He smiled and nodded gratefully. "I only ask that you don't overcharge for those vehicles, this technology is meant to help."

"I promise you Jeremy, as a respectable business owner, I will ensure that fair compensation is ensured." He said proudly. "I can already see that this meeting was better than I expected. You have my word… I will do as you have asked."

The shrew held his arms open and he leaned forward and allowed the elderly shrew to kiss his cheeks.

"Thank you."

"And on that note, would you like to try some of my famous 'Cheesecake'?" Frufru asked eagerly. "It's a family recipe handed down for generations!"

"Oh, I would love some!" Jeremy said.

"Well come on, you too Judy, I want to see how you like it!"

As he went to pick up Aelita she shook her said and pointed at the desk. "Oh, you want to stay here for a bit?"

She nodded and then pointed at Nick, asking him to stay as well.

After a bit he and Judy left with one of the Polar Bears and Frufru. "I guess she just wants to talk to him about the Solar Panels." He muttered, not knowing what else she could be wanting to talk to Mr. Big about.

(Aelita's PoV)

After she communicated with Nick that she wanted him to 'talk' for her, she sat before the elderly shrew cross legged.

"So, tell me my friend, to what do I owe this private talk?"

She smiled a little as she sent Nick the message on his phone.

"**I just want us to be clear on one thing, 'Mr. Big'…"** Nick said. **"That I am more than aware that despite being a respected business owner… you are 'also' known as the Mafia Lord of Tundratown."**

She could hear Nick gulp nervously while Mr. Big's tone changed slightly.

"I see you are not as 'naïve' as Jeremy is." He replied politely.

She shook her head.

"**We both knew that, had Jeremy not spoken up for Duke Weaselton, you would have 'iced' him for what he did to not only your daughter and granddaughter, but also Jeremy."**

"Indeed… so what is your point?"

"**I just wanted us to be clear is all." **Nick spoke for her while she smiled. **"However, since Jeremy has saved your daughter and granddaughter's life, and is giving you 'full ownership' of this new solar technology… that you… as the Mafia Lord of Tundratown… are now obligated to owe Jeremy… a 'favor'."**

"You are correct… so what is your 'favor' that you would ask of me?" He replied.

She shook her head with a grin.

"**Nothing, for now… all that I ask is you don't tell Jeremy who you truly are. He is a good human; his flaws are obvious to you, but his innocence is what gives him such strength. The others who were picked to be frozen like him; were almost all just like him. Had they not died I have little doubt that the future for humanity would have been much brighter for them."**

"It is sad indeed that there aren't more like him, mammal or human." Mr. Big muttered as he took a sip. "But you aren't like him, the way you look, one would think you would have been more 'childlike'."

"**When you have the collected wisdom, knowledge, history, and culture of your creator's species… your outward appearance matters little. I was aware of who you were the moment I looked you up. My task is to guide him, to guide him to happiness, and eventually guide 'you' to a brighter and better future."** She grinned as she created her own holographic drink and pretended to sip it. **"Even if I have to 'tip my toes' into things Jeremy can't understand… like 'greed'."**

"He made me an offer I would have been foolish to refuse." Mr. Big said with a smile. "And Grandmamama, may she rest in peace… did not raise me to be a fool. But I will keep my word, and I will promise you this as well, I will do right by him with this 'new technology' he is giving me access to."

"**He scratches your back… and you'll scratch his."** She smiled as she toasted him.

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful and healthy business partnership…" He toasted back with a smile. "I look forward to our future encounters!"

She grinned as she nodded as well, greed on its own may be bad, but guided greed can be a powerful tool toward a better future.

It also is nice to have a mafia boss' favor in your back pocket, just in case.

(Gazelle's PoV)

She sighed as she finally walked into her private room and took of her practice outfit. All day she had been talking and singing, dancing and mastering her routine for the big charity concert that was 'originally' going to be for helping fund cancer research, but thanks to Ema it had to be changed last minute. The Mayor had asked her to hold the concert to help raise money to 'pay' for the materials being given to Ema to research, develop and create vaccines and cures.

She had happily accepted, but all day she has been distracted, she'd missed a few lines and misspoke some lyrics, forgot how to do a few dance moves and just overall lost focus during practice. While it was alright because, after all it was practice, she just disliked her performance today.

"I need a shower." She muttered as she walked into her room's bathroom and got the shower ready.

Taking her clothes off she stepped inside and turned the warm water on and started bathing, feeling the water run down her fur and sighing in relief. She swayed a little, rubbing her body as she washed herself and tried to relax.

Until she tentatively touched her lips, and then the memory of the 'party' came up.

She had wished it had gone better, she truly wished that Jeremy had a much better time… but that jerk Sable, so overloaded with his personal popularity…

She shook her head and instead thought about the party 'after' the event, the Gala de le Terre that Jeremy invited her and her friends and their dates to. Seeing those fancy outfits, the grand décor of the palace, the unique dresses and outfits of the guests… the fancy 'old fashion' clothes the hosts wore… the music… the tables…

And finally, the dance…

She silently placed a hand on her hip and imagined it was Jeremy holding her… then she extended her other hand and pretended Jeremy was holding it.

The slow music… the beautiful notes… the sounds of the movement… the lighting… the silently watching crowd as all simply stared as if witnessing poetry in motion.

Then… when she looked up into his eyes as he held her close…

That feeling of 'safety'… of security… of knowing Jeremy was being kind to her and showing her a wonderful time…

She touched her lips again… remembering the softness of his lips… the tender way he kissed her… and just… wishing it had lasted longer…

She sighed as she got out of the shower, unable to focus again. It's been that way all day as she changed into her nightgown, all day she was thinking back to that kiss, it felt so right to her, it felt so wonderful that all she wanted to do was go rushing back to Jeremy and hold him, be held by him…

"I'm falling in love with him…" She muttered. "That's the only explanation… I just like him so much…"

She sat down and thought about that and asked 'why' she liked Jeremy so much that she'd admit she was falling in love.

"He's the last of his kind… okay that's obvious but… he is nice… honest… kind…" She ticked off. "But he's a human and I'm a mammal… is it wrong… did humans have this problem. Probably not… they were all one species, whereas we're entirely different races, let alone 'species'…"

She sighed as she pulled her phone out and decided to call Aelita, wanting to talk to him really quick and apologize that she won't be with him for a few weeks.

"Hi Aelita… can I talk to Jeremy?" She asked, looking outside and seeing it was nighttime. "I just want to wish him good night!"

After a while she heard Jeremy's voice.

"_Gazelle, how are you doing?"_

"Jeremy… I'm doing okay, but I'm so sorry that I won't be able to see you for a few weeks." She said sadly, choosing her words carefully because she didn't want to talk about her private thoughts while Aelita was listening. "How are you doing in the base, lonely?"

"_A little… but the drones are keeping me company, and of course Lula is living here and I'm teaching her about how the drones work."_ He explained. _"She seems really interested in learning about them, especially since there are so many now in need of maintenance checks. It's been a long while since I've had time to make sure they're all okay."_

Hearing that there was a female living in his base made her feel 'slightly' jealous, but she shrugged it off, knowing that he wasn't 'trying' to find a girlfriend. "Well I'm glad to hear that… how are you doing on food… are you able to eat in the base?"

"_For the most part, just standard base supplements, its nothing compared to your cooking though…"_ He replied, causing her to smile. _"How are you feeling now?"_

"Could be better…" She muttered, wishing to say more. "Practice is hard… I messed up a lot… but its still a long way before the concert, I'm used to it."

"_Is there anything I can do to help?"_

"Nothing… but hearing your voice makes me feel better now." She said with a smile. "I have to go to bed, need to wake up early… good night Jeremy, and pleasant dreams."

"_Good night Gazelle… and thank you for calling… I actually miss hearing your voice now that I'm so used to it."_

She hung the phone but held it close to her heart, already missing him even 'more' now that she'd talked to him. Her heart began to feel pangs of loneliness, and even the thought of Jeremy kissing her wasn't enough to settle it down. She sighed and pulled up her text messaging and sent a text to Aelita.

{G: Can I talk to you for a bit?}

{A: Of course~ : D!}

{G: I want to ask you something important…}

{A: Is it about Jeremy o.0?}

{G: … yes…}

{A: …}

{A: …}

{A: Hold on…}

For a moment she was confused, before incredibly her phone suddenly closed all applications, and she watched in amazement as the screen became nothing but a block of purple. Then before her eyes a cascade of rainbow-colored squares began swirling and appearing from everywhere, as if in a tornado of petals.

Within seconds the colored squares all coalesced into a single form and Aelita appeared, looking around the phone screen before waving at her.

"**There, now we can talk in private without the need for a text message."** She said, but not really 'speaking', more moving her mouth while a text box appeared next to her with the words she was speaking.

"I didn't know you could do that." She said in amazement.

Aelita simply crossed her arms and smirked. **"Sister, I'm over three hundred and fifty thousand years old, am the most advanced Artificial Intelligence mankind ever developed, and have access to more advanced technology in my holosphere than 'ZOOGLE' could ever 'hope' to dream of."** She said. **"So, what do you want to talk about?"**

"Well… it's about Jeremy… I sort of…"

"**You kissed him at the party and now your confused about how you feel about him, aren't you?"** She said while sitting cross legged.

"How did…" She began saying before shaking her head in amusement. "You really don't miss anything… do you?"

"**If it concerns my Jeremy, I watch his 'every movement' every moment I'm able to."** She replied knowingly. **"So, when you kissed him, you felt confused, and now your confused about how your feeling?"**

"Yes… all day I've been unable to focus… until I thought about him and then…" She muttered before sighing. "I suppose I just want to ask 'you' an important question…"

She leaned a little closer at that. **"Do you want 'my' advice… or would you like the 'Wisdom of Humanity' to answer you?"** She asked. **"The Wisdom of Humanity guides my actions, just as much as Jeremy orders me or I think for myself. If you are really confused, you can ask 'it' and I promise you, it will answer any question you propose."**

She thought about that, still disbelieving that something like an 'all knowing' wisdom could exist and answer her every question. "I just… think of Jeremy and… I just want him for myself!" She finally admitted, standing up and holding herself while turning away from her phone. "He's so wonderful, he's kindhearted, he hasn't got an OUNCE of greed in him… he cares about me, cares about others… he's… he's EVERYTHING a girl like me dreams about having in a male!"

She sighed as she turned to the AI who was watching her attentively.

"I just want to know… is it wrong for me to want him for myself, because thinking of another female taking him from me makes me feel sad!" She asked the little AI.

Aelita frowned before nodding in acceptance, she then readjusted herself and placed her hands together and closing her eyes, as if meditating. She was quiet as she waited for the AI to speak again, knowing that she had taken her question very seriously, and had proposed it to this 'Wisdom of Humanity' that Jeremy and Aelita had spoken so highly about.

After a while Aelita looked up and frowned at her.

"**Yes… it is wrong."** She responded.

Her heart jumped in shock at that, she was about to speak up before Aelita talked again.

"**It's wrong, and if you only want Jeremy for yourself because you don't want him to be happy with another who 'does' make him happy, then you should no longer spend time with him. Jeremy's heart is fragile, his heart is alone in this world no matter what happens. He will always be alone; he is going to live life alone and when his time comes, he is going to die alone. Nothing you or any mammal, sentient or otherwise, can say that will change that fate."**

She then cupped her hands together and created a frozen heart that beat, fractured and damaged as if it were made of ice. It looked so fragile that all it would take is a single tap to shatter it.

"**His heart is barely holding together, the warmth it feels is only enough to keep it going. The trust it gives is so much because it has to in order to survive now, all it would take is a single touch in the right spot and it will shatter… ending the spark of hope it still has for this world. Alone it cannot survive, and even though it may be surrounded on all sides, it still knows that it is alone…"** She said sadly. **"If you only wish to keep this heart for yourself, because you fear what another may do with it, or fear that you may lose it… then you do not deserve to be near this heart or share in any of the warmth it may have left."**

With that she closed her hands and concealed it from view.

"**If that is how you truly feel… then yes, it is wrong… and I urge you to not pursue him any further."** She said while looking solemnly at her. **"Let him find a heart that will love him, warm him, give him the strength to keep going… for you are the only thing that has kept him going this far. He may say I give him strength, but I cannot touch his heart, I cannot heal his hurts, nor can I share in his joys. I am only an AI, my purpose is to guide him, but if he does not wish it, then I cannot give it. If he 'wants' to die… then I will have no choice, but to permit it. We cannot disobey a human's wishes."**

She once more revealed the frozen heart and looked at it warmly, but still sadly.

"**If I could I would shower him with all the love of the world, I would build a paradise just for him… he could ask it and I would gladly create a world where he and I would live happily ever after, without fear or worry."** She said lovingly. **"Humans created me… I love humans more than you understand or can comprehend… the thought that only one lives and when it dies will be the end… drives me to tears, how can something so 'beautiful' be erased from the world? It is not fair; it is not right… it shouldn't be possible… but it is."**

She concealed it again and looked at her.

"**So, if that's how you feel… then yes… it is wrong."**

Hearing those words caused her to cry. She knew that there was no way Aelita would say that unless she had a very good reason. But still, the words she spoke hurt her feelings, especially her heart.

She hadn't thought of it that way, she cared about Jeremy, and even though she 'knew' it would hurt her so much she would have let him go if another female loved him and he loved 'her'. Yet it still hurt being told by another, especially the AI.

"**But I know you don't truly feel that way."** Aelita said. **"So… do you have another question?"**

She sighed and sat down with the phone, picking it up and looking at the AI's almost 3d form. "Is it okay for me to love Jeremy?"

Aelita smiled as she looked at Gazelle, before closing her eyes and once more assuming a meditative posture. She was silent waiting the answer, but it came much faster than the last answer did.

The AI smiled warmly and nodded.

"**There's nothing wrong with love… it transcends all forms, physical or mental."** She replied. **"If you love Jeremy… then you love him… and I honestly don't think anyone is better off with him than you."**

With that she snapped her fingers, and her phone glitched out, before returning to normal.

Though, just before she could turn her phone off and turn in for the night, Aelita left her a message.

{Gazelle and Jeremy, sitting in a tree, K. I. S. S. I. N. G! OwO heheehehehehe}

She blushed in embarrassment before replying, {Shutup!} and shut her phone off so she could sleep. But as she laid down and closed her eyes, all she could do was smile sweetly, and replay the scene of her and Jeremy in that ballroom, with the spotlight on them… as he leaned toward her and she into him…

And felt his lips upon hers, for the first time…


	20. Chapter 19

_Been a long road to follow, been there and gone tomorrow…_

_Without saying goodbye to yesterday, are the memories I hold still valid?_

_Or have the tears deluded them? Maybe this time tomorrow…_

_The rain will cease to follow, and the mist will fade into one more today…_

Chapter 19 = The Price of Progress

(Ema's PoV)

Ema stared at a vial of her mortal enemy… an enemy that she thought would never rear its ugly, disgusting, agitatingly aggressive head in front of her ever again.

Yet nevertheless, it stared before her.

**[So, we meet once again…]** She commented.

To the Mammals it was labeled as 'Bumpuss Syndrome'… but to her database, it had a far more deadly name.

Smallpox… or at least it was a weaker version of the human disease that was thought eradicated by humanity, having evolved through the mammal's ancestors and remaining dormant for thousands of years.

According to her records Smallpox was thought to have been destroyed, forever existing only in the most heavily sanitated of bio-laboratories, such as Eden Facility 17. There were still a few samples of the disease in the base, cultivated and kept alive for record purposes and research, but the mammals had contracted their own variation of it, and she was now determined to once again, eradicate it as her creator's ancestors did.

She had to, to the mammals it was a horrible disease, but not very lethal, they had treatments, but were not able to completely vaccinate and eradicate it on account of its uniquely mutating properties, evolving and adapting to medications. She however, had ensured Jeremy had left the base 'before' turning her attention to this, as his immune system, while having been vaccinated for Smallpox, was not ready for this disease.

Her initial analysis indicates that if he caught it now, it would absolutely ravage his immune system before it could respond, and she was not going to let him within a hundred miles of this until she'd researched it.

The mammal's vaccination and cure for this would have to wait, Jeremy had higher priority.

**[Good thing they gave me this sample, if Jeremy had caught this before I found you, he'd be in trouble… now he'll never know you even existed.]**

She took it into her syringe and used her bio scanners to examine its genetic makeup and DNA structure. After cataloguing her finds she requested a single sample of the Smallpox disease for comparison so that she could begin developing a vaccine and cure for it.

However, before she could begin, she received a message from Sentinel that there was a mammal wishing to speak to her.

She turned to the main viewscreen in the medical bay, tapped a button and activated the viewing function to see what appears to be a 'Moose' wearing a suit and carrying a suitcase, straightening their tie as he was watched by several RAPTOR drones.

She tapped the intercom function and spoke up, **[State your business, I'm busy!]**

"_Yes, I'm here to talk to you about perhaps securing the patents on…" He began saying._

**[Not my job!]** She declared. **[I develop the vaccines and cures, I don't do negotiations, that's not what I'm programmed for.]**

"_Uhm, well… that may be, but they 'are' developed by you… are they not?"_

**[Yes they are.]** She answered.

"_Well then, we can still talk about…"_

**[Your wasting your time, I cannot do anything that goes against the orders or requests made by a human.]** She stated. **[Protocol six hundred and fifty-nine alpha, a drone cannot disregard an order or request given to them by a human. Protocol six hundred and fifty-seven alpha, a drone must fulfill any request or order given to them by a human to the best of their ability if the request or order is within the scope of their programming and body's primary design function. And finally Protocol five hundred and twenty-three alpha, any order or request given by a human above the age of seventeen is to be acknowledged and regarded as such and only disregarded if a human of higher rank or age states otherwise to the drone.]**

This was not the first time she's been approached by a 'lawyer' as they were called, apparently some mammals were trying to 'buy' her medicine, but she told them the same answer each time.

**[I may be the one developing them, but unless Jeremy tells me to, I am to continue as normal, develop and research cures and vaccines to diseases and cancers. Create said cancer and disease vaccines and cures and distribute them to any hospital requesting them under the condition they be distributed freely to the local population. All of this as defined by the agreement between Jeremy Wilheart and the Mayor Leia Lioness of Zootopia. Furthermore under the United Earth Medical Institution, no medical treatment created using research associated with the UEMI is to be bartered with, sold, auctioned, or otherwise used for personal profit, personal gain or personal welfare at the expense, whether physical or mental, of the health of the general populace.]** She stated before tapping another button, which set off a timer. **[As a drone I cannot disobey the orders given to me by Jeremy or the rules programmed and hardwired into me by the Human Protection Protocols and the UEMI. In other words, 'get lost'!]**

She muted the viewscreen as a loud screeching sound occurred, causing the moose to grab at his ears in pain.

With that she returned to her work, ignoring the yells and indignant calls of the suit wearing mammal as she examined her biosample.

(Gazelle's PoV)

She sat on her bed brushing her fur and watching the morning news that day. It's been a few days since She'd last talked to Jeremy and he returned to living, at least temporarily, in the base. The few times he'd left had been to talk to a car company about how they can develop a new line of cars powered entirely by solar energy, something she was extremely excited about. It seemed a beautiful idea to her, and she hoped many good things came from it.

The news media was certainly going nuts, some calling it the 'Technology of the Past's Future'.

Speaking of the media, she watched as the news anchors were talking about Jeremy that very moment.

"_We're back with your 'Morning Glory Story' segment here at ZNN, I'm Chuck your host and I am happy to be talking about this latest story."_ The happy sounding host said. _"It's been three days since Mr. Big, Tundra Town's Billionaire and Multi-Business Owner announced a new line of motor vehicles to be developed, using none other than Solar Power Technology based on, get this… Human Jeremy Wilheart's 'Solar Carriage'." _He said as a picture of Jeremy's beautiful carriage with HORSE dragging it appeared on the screen. _"After inviting Jeremy to his home and talking to him, he was offered the opportunity to have his limo manufacturing plant that he owns be taught how to use 'solar energy' as a means of power for motorized vehicles."_

"_In an exclusive press talk with Mr. Big, he had this to say…"_

The screen changed to an image of the Multi-business owner.

"_It offers me great pleasure to announce this new line of vehicles, which I will be investing heavily into developing."_ He said as cameras flashed before him. _"When I learned of the potential, and good, that a vehicle of Jeremy's like can do… I was ecstatic to be offered the chance. Mammals of 'all' sizes and shapes, often have to strain their budgets to pay for gas in their cars… but with these new vehicles I'm told… all one would have to do… is just leave it outside in the day, and it will run on its own power."_

"_Mr. Big, how much do you think this will save mammals in the long run?" A reporter asked._

"_On average I'm told, a mammal can spend anywhere between three to four hundred a 'month'. Small mammals like Shrews naturally spend less… but for those bigger mammals, who must budget their money and might not have that much to spend, this number could cripple their dreams of family vacations or even big fancy dinners with friends and family for example. Now with these new 'Solar Cars' we're learning about… that dream vacation for the family… that big outing with friends and loved ones… suddenly feels a lot more affordable."_

"_Mr. Big, what do you have to say about fears that this new technology, developed and being shown to you by a human, could perhaps lead to a loss of jobs in the market?"_

"_Absolutely no fear… even if we were to make a car tomorrow and it hit the market… it will be many years before even such a fear would be realized."_ He said with a big grin._ "As for those who build the cars, the difference will be minimal, instead of doing oil changes and engine checkups, they will be inspecting solar panels and battery connections. I expect a slow and steady transition from fossil fuels to 'green tech' as he called it. This new car will be clean and not harmful to our planet… and anything that is good for our planet… as my grandmama taught me… is 'good' for business."_

The news anchor returned to the screen after that. _"You heard it here mammals, while we couldn't get an interview with Jeremy Wilheart who showed and demonstrated the ways Solar Panels could be used to power a vehicle's battery to help drive it, we managed to get sneak peak of a 'rough' working prototype."_

It changed now to a group of Grizzly Bears with a skeleton drive section of a car; no more than four wheels strapped together to a battery, a huge panel, a chair, and a steering wheel as well as a battery. They were watching it slowly make its way across the asphalt pavement, and while it wasn't fast the bears were cheering and toasting each other. She thought they looked funny seeing their skeleton car barely moving faster than a Sloth, but it was obvious that they were slowly getting where they wanted to.

After a while they returned to the anchor who was showing a picture of Mayor Lioness.

"_Yesterday afternoon the Mayor invited Jeremy to City Hall to receive the 'Emerald Tree Medallion', the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed upon any mammal for outstanding citizenship and achievement, for his. The award will be given by Nickolas Tapton of the 'Ranger Scouts'…"_ He paused for a moment as he put a finger to his ear. _"I'm just getting word that we have confirmation that Jeremy's Solar Carriage is now entering Downtown Zootopia…"_

She smiled as she finished getting into her practice outfit and turned the screen off. She was so happy with how things had turned around for him. From being a feared creature and a mystery, to being seeing as a potential terror and threat with mammals calling for him to be 'put down' or locked away… to being awarded the highest civilian honor Zootopia had.

She left her room to head downstairs, she'd watch the award ceremony later and watch how embarrassed he'd appear on screen.

She chuckled warmly as she pictured him trying to appear small in front of cameras. He'd tried to avoid public spotlight, but this time the mayor had him cornered, he couldn't say no to a cub awarding him the medal.

The mayor perhaps, but a cub?

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Ugh… I am sooo not ready for this." Jeremy muttered as he wore his dress suit from the party.

They were traveling into Downtown Zootopia in his carriage, being pulled by HORSE as usual. Aelita was twirling in her holosphere next to him while Judy and Nick wore their best civilian clothes over their vests and concealed weapons in the carriage. He sat in the carriage with the sheets blocking off seating down and the seats rearranged in the night by the drones. Instead of there being four rows of seats, there now were three lounge styled couches, complete with foldable head rests and leg rests, and even built in coolers for drinks or heaters for Jeremy. Although the front row had remained the same, separated from the rest of the seating area by a metal barrier. There was even a small table that could be pushed down if needed or even used to eat meals on as the carriage did not rock or shake.

"Jeremy, you have nothing to be afraid of!" Judy said with a giggle. "You are receiving the Emerald Tree Medallion, the highest honor Zootopia has to offer. This is an amazing day for you."

"Oh yea, sure, 'you' don't have to be afraid because you're not the one getting it." Nick said with a smirk. "Remember the press briefing with the Night Howler incident, you were such a nervous wreck, and you weren't getting a medal for that."

"I thought we agreed not to talk about that." Judy muttered.

"Hey, what goes around comes around carrots."

"I know but… this is still something I'm not used to…" He muttered to them. "I mean, all I'm doing is trying to help… that's not worth a big ceremony or anything."

At that Nick snorted before smiling at him. "Let's see… you set up an arrangement between the Mayor and Ema to develop cures and vaccines for diseases for all mammalkind and offer the results for 'free', to be given for 'free'… with no wish for personal profit or gain. You teach a few car people how they can use Solar Panels to make a car move, again with 'no' wish for personal profit. You are known as the 'Angel without Fur'. You literally almost 'died' saving the lives of others, and you even did not press any charges against a mammal who nearly kills you. And you say you have done nothing worth this big ceremony?"

At that he had to admit, the way he worded it, he did do wonderful things. Though he still felt this was all a bit much, all he was doing was helping them.

"Wow, the crowds are 'huge'." Judy muttered as she looked out the window.

Jeremy looked and he saw that there were indeed crowds following Jeremy's vehicle as it made its way to City Hall. The mayor had sectioned off streets to be clear of traffic, ensuring he had a straight and clear path for his carriage. It also told the public where he would be traveling, and this led to rows and rows of mammals lining the streets to cheer and applaud him. Many had signs and others were just waving and calling out to him, though of course none of them could see him directly because of the tinted windows Aelita built into the carriage to prevent them from seeing inside but allowing them to see outside, they still knew it was him because of the carriage and HORSE.

HORSE, meanwhile, being a category 2 drone simply walked along the fastest path to their destination, that being the road the Mayor had cleared, unconcerned with the crowds and ignoring them as it plotted along at its set pace.

"So many mammals." He muttered, seeing so many species lining the streets.

"A lot more than you ever see in a day huh?" Nick asked.

He glanced at the fox and nodded. He'd never see so many, but now that he did, it put a bit of a smile in him.

They were out here to cheer for him, most of them probably only knew him by name or because of his deeds, but they were still there for him.

Perhaps it wasn't as bad as he thought it might have been, though he still felt this was all a little much.

Especially the confetti that some mammals were flinging as his carriage rounded a corner.

Aelita however was giggling as she continued to twirl in her holosphere, absolutely having fun while they traveled as if the AI didn't have a care in the world.

"Just because they recognize me doesn't mean you're getting out of this Aelita." He replied to her snickering. "If I have to suffer, I am going to make sure every mammal in Zootopia knows that 'you' also are helping me. I'm not doing this alone, you and every drone in the base is helping me make what I've been doing possible."

Aelita smirked as she nodded in understanding.

"So, Jeremy, what 'do' the drones do for you in the base?" Judy asked as she straightened her fur. "Like, I understand they protect you… care for you… and help you but what 'do' they do?"

He looked over at the rabbit officer before replying. "Well, the drones do whatever I ask them to if its within their capabilities. If I tell a drone to do something it pretty much will do it. The only limitations are based on their body structure and programming, but most every drone has a basic understanding of a lot of subjects. For example, combat drones understood human anatomy for… well combat reasons. However, if I asked a RAPTOR or a FOX to tend to an injured human it couldn't do it because it lacked the tools or understanding of how to treat a human. That's one of the reasons why I was chosen for the Cryogenic Solution, when I reprogrammed MUTT to assist injuries, mechanical problems and for non-lethal combat instead of for lethal combat like the other DOG drones."

"And 'Horse' was it?" Nick asked. "What does 'it' do?"

"HORSE was designed to download a GPS signal of wherever it's located and use that to plot the fastest route to his destination. At the same time, it's using a low sonic vibration emitted from the ears to detect for any potential interruptions and adjusts its path accordingly to prevent any interruptions and maintain his constant speed. It's how it's able to arrive on schedule despite moving at a slower speed than what other vehicles may be doing around him."

"Sounds like HORSE does a lotta things." Nick chuckled.

"Yea but it's only got a category two AI…" He explained as they neared a crossroad and began passing near the Mammal's natural history museum. "It's just barely better than an AN-"

-KRAAAAAASHSCREEEEEEEEEEEE-

With a sudden jolt he and the others were all sent careening into the side of vehicle as it skidded and violently was shoved off the road. HORSE was screaming **[COLLISION DETECTED, COLLISION DETECTED!] **and was skidding on its side while trying to climb back onto its feet.

"HANG ON!" He screamed as he grabbed and held Aelita until the vehicle stopped.

The Carriage's eight sphere-tires rapidly switched direction to compensate for the sudden change in direction, easing their sudden collision but they were still forced off the road and into the building. The vehicle that hit them careened and crashed them into it, breaking glass and damaging pillars as they entered the main entrance.

After a few moments their momentum was finally stopped, and the Carriage stopped.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked.

"I'm okay… Nick?" Judy asked.

"Yea… yea I'm fine!" Nick replied looking shocked.

Jeremy checked Aelita who was looking around in confusion but nodded to indicate she was alright.

"Aelita… can you give me a damage report?" He asked, planting her on the table.

She nodded and pointed at the table, and within seconds a hologram of the carriage appeared. He looked it over and saw that the Carriage had received negligible damage to the exterior, at most a few scratches. The tires had been strained by the sudden change in direction but otherwise everything involving the drive section was still fine. Even the glass was still perfectly intact.

"Just a scratch or two, nothing bad." He explained.

"Tough car you got!" Nick muttered.

"The carriage's hull is made of a titanium alloy; never doubt the punishment it can take." He explained before looking to see what looked like a large truck hauling some very large box behind it.

There was still a ton of smoke from the damage caused and fearing that maybe whoever was driving the truck had been badly injured in the accident he quickly got out from the other side. Yet to him it seemed weird that there'd be this much smoke, as despite crashing through the museum's front entrance and causing all the damage they did, there wasn't that much destroyed outside of the door and doorway, and a few pillars that were on the 'outside'.

"Is anyone hurt?" He called out.

There was a moment before he saw someone step out of the driver's seat of the truck through the smoke.

"Hello, are you okay sir or ma'am?"

*Click Clack*

He had only a brief second to recognize the sound, before he ducked behind the carriage as gunfire erupted. Bullets pinged and glanced off the heavy metal of the carriage as Judy and Nick jumped out of the carriage with guns drawn.

(Judy's PoV)

"Stay down Jeremy!" She yelled. "Judy Hopps ZPD, drop your weapons or else!"

In response their assailants fired again, and she was forced to take cover behind the carriage, Nick was on the other side and he peaked over to see who the mammals were but ducked as they fired again.

**[Emergency, weapons fire detected, evacuating! Evacuating!]** The drone yelled as it clambered up and ran out, being shot at the entire time but ignoring the shots which simply bounced off its metal body.

"Don't think they're listening Carrots!" He yelled.

She nodded before leaning over and taking shots with her pistol, but the smoke was obscuring the mammals as they jumped out of the rear of the truck and cleared the smoke and revealed themselves to be a mixture of predator and prey mammals. Some seemed to be Grizzly and Polar Bears, while others looked like Skunks or Porcupines. All of them were wearing gas masks and while some carried automatic weapons others wielded submachine guns.

Within seconds the museum entrance became a warzone as she traded fire with their attackers, ducking to avoid the bullets alongside Nick, but for every single shot she managed to squeeze out, their assailants answered a hundred-fold in exchange.

As she moved to reload her spent magazine, she felt a bullet wiz past her ears that had been poking up, she could literally feel the bullets cut into the delicate ear, even if it was just a graze, and she spasmed momentarily in pain.

"Ugh!" Nick yelled as he dropped his gun, his finger bleeding lightly as it too was grazed by a stray shot.

"We've gatta get outa here!" Judy yelled. "Jeremy, come on!"

"No, we can't leave Aelita or the carriage behind!" The human said as he tried to stay covered, but then suddenly fell backward and clutched his shoulder as a bullet pinged off something. "Agh!"

"JEREMY!" She screamed as she aimed her gun over the carriage hull and blindly returned fire.

Nick ran over to him and quickly looked him over, seeing the human clutching at his shoulder and pulling the hand away to reveal blood. "He's been hit!"

Jeremy started breathing heavily before pulling himself up and into the vehicle. "Inside… quick!" He stammered.

Not questioning the human, she and Nick climbed back into the vehicle, but had to duck to avoid the bullets which started tearing into the glass windows. Pings sounded and cracks formed in the windows facing their attackers, but it wasn't until the central window shattered, did they shield themselves from the broken pieces which spilled everywhere inside the carriage 'and' outside.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Aelita… activate the Panic Mode!" He screamed in pain, feeling the bullet in his shoulder and feeling the pain starting to grow.

From the table Aelita nodded and knelt down, closed her eyes, before raising her hands and extending them outwards.

-Patump Patump Patump Patump-

One by metal sheets slowly raised and slid into place, covering the windows, locking into place and encasing them in darkness and more importantly a protective barrier. Then she pointed her palms to the floor, and they all felt the carriage jolt ever so slightly.

-SINK SINK SINK SINK SINK-

Below them the carriage's tires had all been retracted into the carriage's underbelly and sliding titanium doors closed to create a perfectly air-tight seal of the vehicle and its interior. Yet Aelita was not done as she stretched her arms wide and began to wiggle her fingers as if sprinkling something.

-Kleeclkicreqept-

Along each of the now bulletproof sealed windows a special gel similar to Biotech, called Metagel began to seep and coat their shields, encasing them in a protective and powerful regenerative barrier which would keep the metal safe from most outside sources.

Finally, Aelita raised her arms one last time starting with her left…

-Pssssssssst-

And then suddenly slammed it down.

-Kachink-

She raised the right arm now, and then slammed it down.

-Psssssst… Kachink-

She then cupped her hands together and raised them gently, creating a holographic display of the carriage and revealing data about it and their current condition.

The Carriage had been designed by Aelita to be as beautiful as well as powerful as she had intended it to be. Most of the vehicle's outer exterior was made out of the same titanium alloy as the SCORPIO Class drone Alexander had inhabited, making it difficult to damage and nigh-indestructible to conventional weapons. Yet not only was it that tough, she had also included a 'panic mode' to protect him and any other occupants.

When the Panic Mode was initiated, the Solar Carriage locked itself up and sealed the interior and the occupants inside in a protective shell which few could penetrate. The windows became bulletproof and angled and layered in a way that ensured any potential damage was deflected. The tires were also pulled in and sealed off to prevent the carriage from being tugged away by any assailant or damaged to prevent the carriage from escaping. As another touch, the carriage contained a canister of 'Metagel', a substance which acts similar to Biotech and both regenerates and smooths any damage done to the bullet shields of the windows.

As an added measure, the carriage also had a miniature air filtration and purification unit installed to prevent anyone from trying to smoke them out. Finally, to ensure any attackers who might threaten them didn't try to lift or drag the carriage, two duratanium rods extended and plunged into the ground to anchor and keep the carriage grounded.

He had thought Aelita's designs to be 'excessive' for a simple carriage designed to help him get around, but now it seems he owes Aelita's foresight more credit than he gave it.

He breathed heavily as he clutched at his shoulder while the mammals outside tried to shoot out the now fortified windows, starting to feel his shoulder shaking slightly. The pain he was in was starting to grow steadily, and the longer it went the more he felt it.

"Nick, help me take his shirt off." Judy yelled, shuffling over with her fiancé to him.

"Hang in there buddy, just hang in there…" Nick muttered as they carefully undid his suit to examine the wound.

He nodded as he watched them remove his dress coat first, then slowly undid his shirt to reveal a bloody mess. He could see the bullet had entered at an angle from the front, and as they checked they said there was no entry wound, meaning that the bullet was 'still' lodged into him. As he tried shifting his shoulder, he could guess its general location, as just moving his shoulder a bit resulted in enormous pain.

Then he felt his body starting to tremor, and he began to feel hot and sweaty.

(Judy's PoV)

"Oh no… he's going into shock!" She yelled. "Do you have an emergency medical kit here?"

The AI nodded but pointed at the front seat, indicating it was out of their reach.

"Great, the absolute 'worst' time for human tech to fail us!" Nick yelled as he instantly ripped his sleeve and helped her hold Jeremy down. "Put more pressure on him, we've got to stop the bleeding!"

Judy did as he said and held him as still as possible, applying pressure to the wound to try and stop the bleeding, which was still releasing blood the longer it went. As she did Nick used his other sleeve the wipe as much blood away before he started wrapping his makeshift bandage around the shoulder. He grunted heavily as he tightened it, double wrapped and tightened it again, before tying it into a strong knot.

After a while she breathed calmly once his breathing started to settle, but he was starting to look pale. "I'm calling Bogo Nick." She said as she pulled her phone out.

As the phone started ringing Aelita frantically flashed a light at them to get their attention and pointed at the hologram which showed the scene outside. Their assailants had planted what looked like a bomb right outside the door and had just ran away from it. "Nick, hold Jeremy!" She yelled frantically.

Both of them grabbed Jeremy and covered their ears, before the huge explosion shook the vehicle, but despite being right outside the door the Solar Carriage stood firm, unmoved and unshaken by the bomb.

Nick breathed a sigh of relief but still looked nervous. "I take back what I said, I love human tech, sure is resilient." He replied.

"Ti…tanium… construction…" Jeremy muttered weakly. "Won't… break... or bend easily…"

"Jeremy, how are you doing?" Nick asked him quietly.

"_Judy, what's going on?"_ Bogo shouted as she finally got through.

"Bogo, we need SWAT down here at the Nature's History Museum!" She yelled. "Jeremy's Solar Carriage was hit, armed assailants are trying to kill or kidnap him, he's been shot, we're trapped and pinned down!"

"_We're on our way, just stay safe!" _Bogo said.

"That won't be a problem… for now we're protected, but the carriage's defenses won't protect us forever!" She said.

=Meanwhile at Eden Facility 17=

**[Alert, alert, Solar Carriage One distress signal detected… situation extreme!]** Sentinel's voice declared in every hallway, corridor and room. **[Damage assessment, exterior armor has suffered minimal damage, receiving fire from multiple hostiles. Human injury confirmed, damage unknown at this time. Solar Carriage One surrounded, immobile and requesting assistance. Situation Analysis… Potential Hostage Situation…]**

Alarms blared and lights changed to red as inside a drone storage bay multiple slots opened, and yellow optics turned on.

**[Activation sequence of the Hostage Crisis Control Unit has been approved.]**

As one twenty DOG drones all carrying special plasma poles ran out into the lit hallway, in front of them was a single RAPTOR class drone. All the drones wore the same red insignia with the letters HCC 17 emblazoned on their sides.

**[Situational analysis… examining the three rules of use of lethal force…]**

They turned down a corridor as several Sentinel Drones got out of their way.

**[Human life is threatened in the presence of a drone, confirmed, first rule has been cleared!]**

They ran up the stairs toward the higher levels, ignoring the lifts as they were too slow to take, and they could only enter one at a time.

**[Drone's existence is threatened because Human life is threatened. Unit Jeremy has been injured, Unit Jeremy labeled 'last of the creator species', confirmed, second rule has been cleared!]**

They turned to the main hallway and stormed into and past the command center, locking the location of Solar Carriage One into their tracking sensors. As a single unit they stormed out of the entry way.

**[Examining required use of Lethal Force to ensure no further loss of human life rule, situational analysis completed, only one human remains, Unit Jeremy must not be lost… third rule has been cleared!]**

They stormed out into the broad daylight of the city, moving as fast as they collectively could, turning as one formation, ignoring all distractions as they moved to their destination, as their optics changed colors to 'red'.

**[By order of Sentinel, and according to the Human Protection Protocols all enemy units must be eliminated, the use of lethal force… has been 'granted'!]**

(Ema's PoV)

Upon hearing the alert going out she immediately stored away her bio sample and walked over to her access port in the ceiling. She plugged her abdomen into a port and began to refill her entire stockpile of chemicals to maximum levels.

**[Sentinel, request transfer of the B.W.S. Class Medical Drone's Portable Chemical Container to the West Access Route to the surface, authorization Ema B.W.S Alpha!]**

**[Request granted…]**

She disconnected her container and disconnected herself from the charging container which linked her to the medical bay. She now had a grand total of twelve hours before she would run out of power. As her abdomen was pulled into the ceiling and sealed up, she stepped out of the medical bay and ran as fast as her eight legs could go.

While she could not move as fast as the other drones, she managed to reach the west access point in under half an hour. Outside she watched a section of the base's wall open and her chemical container jutted out, allowing her to turn around, back up and reattach the abdomen to the rest of her.

She made her way out of the underground access route and up to the surface before she locked in the location of Solar Carriage One.

Then she took a running start to reach maximum speed, before launching herself into the air.

She curled up her body, pulled her legs in and tucked her abdomen inward as well to form a spherical metal ball, and began rolling toward her destination.

She had two methods of movement, her standard walking mode which only granted her a maximum of ten mph, and her more mobile 'ball' mode, allowing her to reach speeds of seventy mph. She only used this mode for emergencies, and this situation called for it as Jeremy had been confirmed injured, but his condition was unknown.

She wasn't about to let the mammals treat Jeremy in one of 'their' hospitals now that she was online. If Jeremy was to be treated, it would be in 'her' medical bay, where she knew the tools at her disposal would be ideal for any condition, he may be in.

It wasn't that she didn't trust the mammal's level of medical knowledge, but she only trusted her own knowledge and abilities when it came to Jeremy.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"That practice went a little better than last time!" She muttered as her friends all went inside for a quick thirty-minute rest before going back to practice.

"Yea, you finally started singing on key!" Donny chuckled.

"Oh, hush you, at least I didn't smack Moe with my hand with that missed wave!"

They kept on teasing and joking about their mistakes as they entered the recreation room to relax and get a quick drink.

"Turn on the tv Don, I wanna see how Jeremy is doing at his Medallion ceremony." She said as she pulled out a bottle of water from the mini refrigerator.

"Check out how he's doing or checking him out?" Franky chuckled.

"Oh quiet!" She quickly snapped, but she blushed ever so slightly.

True she's been thinking about him all morning, and especially all night. She kept on dreaming of that moment at the party, particularly the gala. She would dream of him holding her as they danced around the floor. They danced and the audience just seemed to fade away and vanish, leaving them alone in the room as the music played and showed them the way.

After a while though, Jeremy slowed and pulled her closer to him, and she leaned up into him. Then they'd both lean into each other's embrace, inching closer and closer…

Until they kissed again, but this time… it would last longer.

She would kiss him deeply, and with nomammal or 'human', hologram or otherwise, they could kiss for as long as they wanted. She wrapped her arms around him and his around her, holding one another as close as possible… and they would stay just like that, enjoying each other's touch.

It was silly, but she was using that to encourage her singing efforts and dancing during practice. Just seeing him in her dreams, whether day or night, gave her some strength to try harder. Imagining him in the stands watching her also inspired her, as she wanted to put on a good show for 'him' as well… if he attended that is.

"Let's see… he would be on ZNN right?" Moe called as he fiddled with the remote.

She took a seat in on the couch and cracked the bottle open to take a drink as the tv turned on and he switched it to ZNN.

"_We're back live once again here at ZNN with an update on the Museum Hostage Crisis!"_ The anchor declared as the image of the rear of a twenty-wheeler poking out of the Nature's History Museum entrance with the caption 'Hostage Crisis' above it. _"This just in, multiple SWAT vans have arrived on the scene and have encircled the museum. Police have the area blocked off and we have confirmed reports of gunshots being exchanged between SWAT officers and an 'as yet' unknown group of heavily armed mammals… we're going to play the clip now as we await a live feed from our field reporters at the scene…"_

She stared wide eyed as she saw the clip start out with an excited looking giraffe talking animatedly to a camera.

"_We're here standing outside the Nature's History Museum as mammals are here crowding the sidewalks with streets quartered off as we await the view of Jeremy Wilheart's 'Solar Carriage'. Mammals here are hoping to catch a glimpse of the human and his vehicle as he makes his way to City hall, we have confirmed he is nearing this area and as you can see the crowd is as excited as I am! This is a historic moment as this is the first time most mammals will see this human in a public setting."_ The male giraffe said as the crowd began to cheer loudly. _"That must be him, and yes, it is, I can see Jeremy's Carriage, here it comes!"_

The camera turned quickly to show the beautiful human vehicle being pulled by HORSE as usual, trotting around the corner to the roar of cheers and applause with confetti being flung by random mammals as they cheered him on. As the carriage approached the area where the giraffe was, they returned.

"_As you can hear mammals are roaring with enthusiasm and there is no reason they shouldn't, Jeremy is being called the 'Angel without Fur' for his offer to develop and cure all diseases and cancers and distribute the vaccines and cures for 'free' to 'all' mammalkind. He has also given access to one of humankind's greatest technical marvels, powering vehicles like his own using only 'solar energy'. The technology is said to be one of the greatest inventions of our lifetimes, saving mammals 'thousands' a year and reducing the need for fossil fuels..."_ He said animatedly. _"And there he goes he's just making his way past the museum now and…"_

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE KREAAAAAAAAAASCHVEEEEEEEEEEE

Out of nowhere a twenty-wheeler roared into the street and slammed into the side of Jeremy's carriage, making her drop the bottle as she watched mammals screaming in horror as it shoved the carriage 'and' the drone dragging it into the museum.

"_Oh, oh my goodness… oh… I can't… I can't believe what we just saw… but… apparently a twenty-wheeler has slammed 'into' Jeremy's carriage and crashed it INTO the Nature's History Museum…" _The giraffe exclaimed in shock as mammals looked on in horror at the scene. _"Oh, I hope nomammal was hurt in this horrible accident. I think I can see somemammal exiting the vehicle, I can only hope that Jeremy is also o-"_

_*rat ratatatatatat*_

She heard the screams of fear as mammals ran to get away from the scene, as the telltale sound of gunshots erupted from the museum. She simply held her mouth in horror as she realized what had happened.

Jeremy was being 'shot' at…

"Oh no…" Donny whispered.

After a while the clip showed an explosion take place, indicating a 'bomb' had been detonated and HORSE fleeing the scene amid bullets pinging off of its body. Then the newsfeed returned to the anchor.

"Please be alright…" She muttered hopefully, begging that Jeremy was safe and sound.

"_We apologize for showing that, but we have confirmed that a hostage crisis situation has occurred. SWAT officers are hesitant to attempt any rescue at this time while Jeremy Wilheart, and ZPD's own Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde remain in their assailant's custody."_ The anchor said with a hint of worry. _"So far they have made zero demands, and according to camera crews they have 'failed' to penetrate the exterior of the human vehicle. It appears to be heavily armored and protected, but we have a confirmed report from ZPD Chief of Police Bogo, that Jeremy Wilheart has indeed been shot…"_

She gasped in fear as she fell into the couch, her heart suddenly beating painfully as it heard those last few words.

Thinking instantly she pulled out her phone and tried to call Aelita, wanting to talk to him, to ask him how he's doing and tell him she's there… but all she got was an instant pickup and hang up.

She tried again, but once more the AI responded to her call and ended it before she could even blink.

"_We will continue to report the situation as it develops, from everymammal here at ZNN, our hearts go out to Jeremy, Judy and Nick's safety…"_

"Don't worry Gazelle, he'll be fine…" Moe whispered encouragingly to her, patting her on the back as Franky hugged her reassuringly.

"I hope so…" She whispered tearfully, clutching her phone against her heart as she watched the channel.

She'd just come to terms that she was falling in love with the human, her heart had leapt at the idea of him falling in love with 'her'.

Now she was praying that fate… luck, whatever mysterious force that had guided them together, wouldn't suddenly yank him out of her life as if it were a twisted game or out of some sick sense of humor.

(Chief Bogo's PoV)

"I want that street cut off, and I want snipers on those rooftops 'now'!" He yelled from the safety of the ring of squad cars and armored SWAT vans. "Any signs of movement?"

"Nothing yet." Francine muttered as she watched through a pair of binoculars.

He grunted as he snorted and looked over at the museum entrance.

Whoever attacked Jeremy had played it right, they'd shoved him into the welcome entrance, shielded on multiple sides leaving 'only' the front way in. The vehicle they used to ram into it had pulled out and changed itself to form a wall that they couldn't see past. They had even pulled out 'sandbags' from the truck and had set up barriers to protect themselves and fortify their position.

Whoever they were, they weren't just run of the mill gun freaks, they were 'well prepared' and had obviously planned this stunt to the letter.

He pulled his phone out and dialed Judy again.

"Officer Hopps, how's Jeremy's situation?" He asked.

"_He's not doing well chief; he's starting to go pale… we've done all we can but without a proper first-aid kit all we can do is stop the bleeding and keep him awake and talking."_ She replied nervously. _"He's told us that the bullet probably hit his 'Deltoid' area… which I'm guessing is his shoulder. It hurts every time he shifts a little bit… and he tells us that by how it feels, the bullet is 'still' in his shoulder."_

As she paused, he could hear Jeremy's moans of pain over the phone and that tugged at his heart a little bit, hearing the poor human in pain also made his blood start to boil.

"_I'm sorry… the bullet is starting to cause him intense pain… I'm not sure how much more he can take Chief."_

"Just keep him alive Judy, that's all we're asking of you."

"_Nick and I are trying our best, talking to him… but there's only so much that…"_ She was saying before he heard clanking behind him and mammals yelling in the street.

"Hold that thought!" He said before hanging up and looking.

He saw a line of machines all stampeding in their direction, the first one being a 'RAPTOR' drone by the looks and the rest all being 'DOG' drones according to Jeremy's descriptions of them. They looked identical to the drones he'd seen in the funeral service, but these had a red insignia on them with the ID 'HCC 17' on their sides. They were running in close formation, moving in unison and storming past every mammal, car, and anything else in their way, completely ignoring them as they focused on their destination.

"What in the…" He yelled before they charged past him and barreled 'through' the ZPD blockade.

**[ALL UNITS, BEGIN PHASE 1!]** The lead drone ordered.

*Clank Clank Clank Clank*

The canine drones all split up, half going left and the other half going right, as if they were thinking in unison and moving to a preassigned location. They established a perimeter that circled the entrance to the museum and turned outward.

**[PLANT PLASMA POLES!]**

One by one, no less than half a second apart from the next starting with the right most canine drone, their backsides opened and launched a metal pole which extended and fell back to the ground to be caught in their mouths. They then plunged the poles into the ground with all their might. Each pole was roughly thirty feet tall, extending high above them after being planted.

**[ACTIVATE CONTAINMENT FIELD!]**

They took one step back in unison, and then a bluish field extended from the poles, connecting them together as electricity crackled and shocked between each pole.

The field went high above everymammal, not even the tallest giraffe could look over the field the drones had established which separated everymammal 'including' ZPD and the SWAT from them and the museum entrance.

**[Phase 1 complete, initiating Phase 2…]** The lead drone declared as they all turned inward.

From the museum four of the attackers quickly ducked behind cover, behind their sandbag emplacements and the pillars and began firing at the drones with semi-automatic and automatic fire. Yet each shot they landed bounced and deflected off the drone's armor.

**[Taking enemy fire, negligible damage… initiating counter offensive procedures!]**

Each of the drones opened up their sides with the RAPTOR's arms sliding back inside to pull out various forms of weaponry the likes of which Bogo had never seen before. One drone looked like it had a huge barrel easily three times the size of its body's length, while a few had what looked like cannons.

**[Target locked… open fire!]**

There was only a brief moment where there was silence, and then it was like a crack of thunder exploded as the first shots from the drones were fired.

-BZZZZNGT, BZZZNGT ZZNGT ZZNGT-

What looked like blue shots of light launched from each of the drone's weapon barrels and pummeled into the truck, burning perfectly clean holes into it until it collapsed onto itself and even 'exploded' after repeated fire. Then the drones turned onto the trailer it was dragging and began firing into 'it' next, causing clean holes and again setting the metal it was made of aflame.

As they tore into it what looked like an armored car rolled out from the damaged trailer, immediately the drones focused their fire into it, and despite its name the vehicle crumbled, burned, and then launched itself into the air to land on its side in a pathetic pile of metallic lump from the power of the drones.

One of the attackers leaned around the pillar and aimed an RPG at one of the drones, but the drone ducked, and it flew past and directly at where he was standing.

"WATCH OUT!" He screamed, but before he could even finish speaking or duck, the RPG made contact with the barrier the drones had erected, and it disintegrated on contact.

It was like it had 'melted' before it even had a chance to explode.

He just stared in amazement at the drones, even as their assailants panicked and fled into the museum, screaming about falling back.

"Now I see 'why' Jeremy wanted to keep those things in his base…"

Just 'one' drone that wasn't even armed had his officers at its mercy, now he and everymammal had seen the true power of the human's technology. Their attackers were absolutely helpless as their weapons were useless against them and now, they were trapped between 'them' and the museum.

The drones started to assume a more aggressive formation with the lone RAPTOR in the lead.

**[Phase 2 completed; enemy units have retreated into the superstructure!]** A DOG declared. **[Primary escape vehicle has been destroyed, enemy weapons threat to drones eliminated, enemy units are unable to escape!]**

**[All units confirm positive lock on enemy biosignatures…]**

**[CONFIRMED!]** They yelled in unison.

**[Begin Phase 3, all units initiate 'search and destroy' protocols!]** The RAPTOR said as they all moved to charge. **[Eliminate all enemy units!]**

"Hang on you can't just…" Bogo started to say before a loudspeaker shouted over him.

"**ALL DRONES DISENGAGE WEAPONS!"** A voice shouted that sounded like Jeremy. **"This is Jeremy Wilheart… of Eden Facility 17… code verification Pod Alpha 717… I order you, cease fire at once!"**

As one all the drones paused and looked in the direction of the source in confusion. At the same time his phone rang, and he picked up.

"Judy what's going on in there?"

"_It's Jeremy, he's trying to stop the drones from killing our attackers."_ Judy explained. _"These aren't the 'Sentinel Drones' we're familiar with, these drones are known as the 'Hostage Crisis Control' unit, their orders are to eliminate 'anymammal' that is threatening the life of a hostage, in particular a 'human' hostage. They don't care about anything else, even if they were to surrender, they'd kill them without hesitation. Jeremy is trying to save their lives!"_

"Kill, even if they surrender?" He asked in shock. "Why would they do that?"

"_He says that's how they work, before he was frozen, he said his people were becoming more and more desperate to survive, and situations like this became almost commonplace every day… they had no choice but to do this or risk mass starvation."_ She said quietly. _"These drones will kill however many they must to save Jeremy's life!"_

"**I repeat… by order of humanity, obey the Human Override Protocol and disengage your weapons systems!"** Jeremy yelled, almost painfully again. **"Do not use lethal force… I repeat… do not use lethal force!"**

(Jeremy's PoV)

He gasped painfully as he clutched Nick's phone and watched helplessly on the holoscreen to see if the drones would obey him. This was not a situation the drones were used to, normally the HCC unit didn't need to obey the HOP, because they always went in without fear or concern because of the Human Protection Protocol which ordered them to protect humans at all cost even at the expense of killing those humans who would 'kill' other humans.

Now however, he'd thrown a wrench into their programming, by ordering them to not use lethal force they had no idea what to do now with this situation, as all other times they just stormed into a hostage situation and killed any humans who were threatening the hostages without fear.

It was a 'shoot them now, sort them later' solution, one that worked… if only barely.

"Jeremy, I know your acting all 'angel' like and wanting to show mercy, but these guys just tried to 'kill' you… without concern!" Nick said quietly. "Why are you trying to save them?"

He looked over at the fox before breathing heavily to respond. "You don't understand… I can't… let a drone kill a mammal." He said. "Drones do not care… they do 'not' care… about anyone or anything… they don't act in self-defense; they do not hesitate to kill. If… 'you'… were being forced to point a gun at me… or Judy dies… would you point the gun at me?"

At that he looked shocked from being asked such a question, but he nodded. "I'm sorry Jeremy… but yea… if Judy were at stake and I were being forced to… I'd point a gun at you… I mean I WOULDN'T pull the trigger but…"

He nodded in understanding. "And that's why… they'd kill you… just the same." He whispered. "They'd shoot you instantly… without hesitation… without caring about 'why' you were doing that. You're a threat to me, so they'd kill you to eliminate the threat."

Aelita got his attention and looked at the holoscreen again, zooming in on the Drone's faces. They were all looking at the lead RAPTOR drone, the leading drone of the HCC unit. It was up to that drone now to decide whether to obey the HOP, or follow the HPP. If it obeyed Jeremy's orders they would disengage their weapons and… do something else, what that was he didn't know but at least their attackers wouldn't be slaughtered.

If it ignored his orders, they'd charge in with plasma bolts firing and rip their attackers apart, leaving none of them alive.

The HPPs and the HOPs weren't designed or created to be used against one another, they were only meant to keep the drones from fighting humans unnecessarily. Now the two protocols were clashing inside the drone's programming and it was trying to pick one over the other to obey.

(HCC-1's PoV)

There was a moment of silence before the drone glanced at its weapons, and then back to Solar Carriage One's location.

Then it readjusted its arms and slid its weapons back into its body. **[In the name of humanity, we will obey…]** It declared.

One by one the other drones returned their weapons to standby mode.

**[All units… commence 'siege operations'!]** It declared instead. **[Assume standard formations, cut off all avenues of escape for enemy units. Units HCC-2, HCC-3, HCC-4, and HCC-5 circle around and cut off escape from the superstructure!]**

**[Order received!]**

They all separated and took up their positions while it and the four drones it reassigned left the plasma field, stepping behind the barrier and separating to take positions. It turned back as the field turned on again.

It plotted a patrol and started it, having no other plan for an operation like this, until it received a signal from the B.W.S Class Medical drone, and moved to a position behind the 'SWAT' vehicles.

"So now what do we do?" A bull asked, as its memory identified them as 'Chief of Police Bogo'.

It ignored them though as it watched the signal drawing closer.

"Well, how are we dealing with them now?" Bogo asked. "They still have Jeremy and my officer's hostage, even if they are safe… what do we do?"

It ignored him still and just spread its legs and dug its toes down into the pavement, bracing itself and holdings its claws out as far as it could. Then seconds later a large metallic black ball rolled around the corner and sped right toward their location with mammals nearby screaming and getting out of its way.

Without concern it readied itself and the EMA collided into it, barely budging it backward as it caught the unit and lifted it up to stop all momentum, before lowering it onto the ground.

(Ema's PoV)

As her momentum was stopped, she reasserted her position and began to unfurl herself. Naturally a few of the officers were shocked as she revealed herself, but she had other concerns as she looked down upon the HCC lead drone.

**[Status update, what is Jeremy's condition?]** She asked.

**[Unit Jeremy remains inside the superstructure; enemy units have Solar Carriage One surrounded.]** It replied.

**[Why haven't you eliminated them?]** She demanded.

**[Human Override Protocol is in effect; all HCC unit actions are not permitted to use lethal force.]** It stated. **[We have commenced siege operations and have trapped the enemy inside.]**

**[Of course.]** She muttered as she stepped over the drone and stared past the barrier. **[I need to get in there and assess his and treat his injury!]**

"And what are you supposed to be?" Bogo asked her.

She looked down at him and leaned forward to stare at him with all eight of her optics. **[I'm Eden Facility's 'Emergency Medical Augmenter' Drone, also known as Ema.]** She stated while pointing with one leg. **[I need to get in there and ascertain the damage done to Jeremy and treat him…]**

"I'd love nothing more than to let you, but these drones won't let us in." He muttered, pointing at the plasma field.

She hated mammals, of course the drones weren't going to let them in, they were trying to protect 'them' as well. **[Must I do 'everything' around here?]** She muttered as she stepped over the SWAT vans and police cars to approach the field. **[Cure their diseases Ema, treat their sick Ema, negotiate with hostage-takers Ema… the things I do for humans!]**

She approached the barrier and raised her volume to reach the hostage-takers ears.

**[Attention Mammals… I am 'Ema'… a medical class drone… I seek 'safe passage' to examine the human Jeremy Wilheart's condition, and to treat his injury!]** She yelled. **[I promise no harm will come to you… I am 'unarmed' and am hardwired with the Hippocratic Oath programmed into me. I only wish to examine and treat the injured inside the Solar Carriage… I will treat 'any' of your own injured in exchange!]**

After a while a single mammal, wearing a mask and body armor nervously stepped past the ruins of the drone's handiwork. It appeared to be a Grizzly Bear by the looks of it and they slowly walked to the drone's plasma field with the drones all watching them silently.

"We have 'two' injured… nothing too serious… only 'you' can enter… and you'll be under watch!" They said.

**[Fine, I don't care, just let me make sure he's stable and won't die!] **She agreed.

At her signal a DOG drone disabled the section of the plasma field to let her pass, and she walked through quickly, with the drone reactivating it instantly. She marched inside, ducked low and approached the Solar Carriage which was currently locked down to prevent being moved. Around there were makeshift barricades and positions, and the mammals were all aiming weapons on her.

She could see some of them with what appeared to be, at least in 'their' terms, heavy anti-armor ordinance pointing at her. Yet to her structure it wouldn't be too effective, unless aimed at her abdomen.

She walked over and climbed atop the carriage, before going to the other side where it bordered the wall. There was barely enough room for her to fit sideways but she managed it, this way she could safely examine Jeremy, treat him if necessary, and ensure his attackers couldn't get a line of sight on him.

She tapped the door to let them know she was outside, and within seconds the window slowly opened enough for her to poke her main head inside.

**[Oh, you poor thing…]** She said as she scanned him.

Jeremy was a mess, he was lying on his side with Judy and Nick trying to keep him talking and safe, with the rabbit officer even holding the gun and aiming at the window she was using to peek inside to protect him. He was pale and his shoulder was wrapped in a makeshift bandage that had become blood-stained with time. His breathing was slow and according to her scans the bullet was still lodged inside of his shoulder.

The bullet seems to have penetrated the Deltoid section at an angle, point of entry suggested to her it was a ricocheted entry, penetration occurred approximately forty-two minutes ago.

"Don't get any closer!" Judy muttered as she nervously aimed her weapon while Nick used himself as a living shield to cover the human.

**[Relax… I'm here to help Jeremy…]** She said. **[I'm Ema, the drone who's been developing vaccines at Jeremy's request. I'm a medical drone…]**

"It's okay… she's telling the truth." Jeremy said, causing the two to lower their guard and let him up a little. "How… bad is it?" he asked wearily as Judy put her gun away.

She scanned more intensely and responded, **[Not good… but you're lucky… my scans indicate the bullet barely missed your Anterior Circumflex Artery and just barely avoided puncturing a branch of the Axillary Vein. The bullet itself has just barely dented your Humerus bone. I'm already reading tiny fragments of the bullet embedded in the surrounding bone around the dent.]** She looked into his face as she finished her scan. **[I need to get you back to the base Jeremy; I can't fully treat you while you're in here.]**

"They aren't going to let me…" He whispered. "You'll have to treat me here… as best you can."

**[You just 'love' making my job hard, don't you?]** She muttered as she switched her body to remote control. **[You there, rabbit, grab my head!]**

"Wha…" Judy said before she detached her main optical unit from her body and let it fall to the floor of the carriage.

**[I said grab my head for a reason…]** She said, now staring up at the ceiling. **[I can't risk opening the door to get more of my body in, so I need to slip the few legs I need to operate through the gap in the window.]**

The rabbit picked up her head and angled it so she could watch Jeremy and her body at the same time. With great effort she carefully angled her body so that she could just fit four of her legs, three on her left with the fourth being on her right, into the carriage. Her legs quickly inched and angled toward Jeremy's position.

**[Put Jeremy on the table, Aelita, I need a complete record of everything that happened to him, from the moment he was hit to just prior to me entering the vehicle! And put my head on the chair and angle it so my optics can see him, I'll need you both to help me!]**

Within seconds the Category 10 AI had created a visual hologram in her sphere of the incident, showing Jeremy being shot, dragging himself into the car and then Judy and Nick's makeshift bandage and holding him still as he started going into shock.

**[Okay, looks like the bullet entered his Deltoid, a ricochet entry at roughly a 75 to 65-degree angle based on his position at the time. Only medical treatment available was a bandage created from a stripped piece of cloth from a shirt, based on my scans the bleeding has roughly stopped and is beginning to scab over but he's suffered a lot of blood loss resulting in anemic sensations and loss of color in the skin.]** She declared as they gently placed Jeremy on the table. **[Based on my scans the bullet appears to be of 'lead' with a copper jacket, tip has been blunted due to previous contact prior to entering his shoulder, punching through the Deltoid muscle and missing the Anterior Circumflex Artery and barely avoiding damage to the Axillary Vein, denting the upper portion of the Humerus bone roughly 0.01 millimeter in depth and causing cracks in the surrounding bone. Scans also indicate fragments of the copper casing embedded around the bone… I'm going to have to operate and extract the bullet.]**

While she ticked off this information one of her legs began snipping off the makeshift bandage at both side while two others gently lifted it to reveal the wound.

**[Judy, elevate his head by twenty degrees, use your arms to let his head rest on it and be 'gentle' with him!] **She ordered while one leg split open and gently sprayed the wound with a disinfectant, and at the same time rubbed it clean so she could focus on the wound.

She then lowered a second leg toward Jeremy's shoulder area and gently pressed the tip of a tiny syringe to his skin, and jabbed quickly into his veins releasing a dose of concentrated Morphine to help dull the pain.

**[Nick, I need you to hold Jeremy's hand while this is happening and use the other to hold him still. I've given him a dose of Morphine, a powerful drug to help kill the pain but until it takes full effect this going to hurt him.]**

"How… much…" Jeremy whimpered nervously, looking at her.

**[Jeremy… I need you to be brave… this is going to hurt okay?]** She said in as soft a tone she could manage. **[I understand that normally the proper procedure is to wait for the anesthetic to take effect 'before' performing surgery, but I don't know how long it will be before we return to the base. I need to pull that bullet out of you, this is the best I can do until I get you back to the base, the longer it stays the more damage it can do, I need to pull it out and repair what damage I 'can' before it gets worse. Just stay strong okay?]**

He nodded and gripped Nick's hand tightly, his breathing starting to grow rapid as she opened her third leg and revealed a very tiny tube.

This tool was known as her Arthroscopy Straw, designed to enter bullet wounds and bullet infused plasma rounds to extract casings. As she activated it tiny lights at the tip turned on and almost miniscule claws extended and gripped inward as she tested it. Inside a very small vacuum began to suck up the air as her first leg broke open and placed claws to open the wound up again.

**[Remember, don't clench your muscles, stay as relaxed as you can… I need you to be as calm as possible to extract the bullet without causing damage.]** She said encouragingly. **[On three… one…]**

She didn't give him time to prepare, using the traditional 'go in before they feel the panic' method and using her first leg to open the wound and simultaneously jabbed her tool into the bullet wound to extract the bullet.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" He screamed painfully, gripping Nick's hand while he and Judy did their best to hold him down. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

**[I've almost got it… hang in there… you're doing fine!]** She said, unable to overcome the scream of pain Jeremy was letting out.

She pushed further and further in until she spotted the bullet, and grabbed at it with her claws which slowly and steadily inched it into the vacuum, which was sucking up the blood and keeping it as clear as possible so the bullet could be extracted cleanly.

(HCC-1's PoV)

It was just finishing a patrol, passing by Bogo's position when it and all the other drones heard the scream. As one they turned toward the source, hearing the sound and knowing exactly what was happening.

The mammals however didn't hear the full sound, it being muffled from distance, barriers, and other noises. But they still heard 'something', apparently an echo.

"What's making that noise?" Bogo asked.

"I don't know, I've never heard that sound before…" Francine muttered.

It however turned its full body toward the source, and snarled, unable to launch an attack due to the Human Override Protocol.

It snarled again, unable to obey the Human Protection Protocol ordering it to act.

"Do you know what's making that sound?" Bogo asked it.

It turned and nodded toward the bull. **[It is the sound of a human dying… a human in pain…]** It stated. **[Unit Jeremy is in pain… he is dying…]**

Once they realized what was going on, they looked fearfully at where all the drones were looking, and it too stared.

It snarled again, unable to act because it was ordered not to act.

The Human Protection Protocols were ordering it to rescue the human, to charge in there and eliminate the enemy units to save him. However, the Human Override Protocol given to them ordered them to 'not' use lethal force. Until they were given orders that overrode the HOP, they could do nothing but wait.

So, it turned back to its patrol, listening to the sound of a human crying in agony.

The sound of the last of the creator species, begging for rescue.

(Judy's PoV)

Judy held him as still as she could, crying as Jeremy slowly started to calm down while Ema extracted the bullet at last, pulling her straw out and opening her remaining leg and releasing a golden substance into the wound.

**[There you go… good boy… good boy… you did well…]** She stated.

Jeremy was breathing heavily, his skin still very pale, and now looking even paler after Ema extracted the bullet from him. The spider drone then used the straw-tool and cleaned up the blood before wiping it with disinfectant to clean the wound. As she did, she revealed it to be completely gone, as if the wound was never there.

**[I've managed to repair most of the muscle damage and even the dent to his bone thanks to the Biotech Gel. But he's lost a fair portion of his blood. He still has the shell fragments in his bone, there's nothing I can do about that until he's back at the base where I can properly treat him.]** Ema stated as the leg she used to spray the gel swapped the golden substance with another, and jabbed his arm to inject him with something. **[I've given him a dose of concentrated Vitamin C to help his body quickly replace the blood lost, but he's at high risk of going into a coma from the loss of blood until that happens. You two need to keep him awake, keep him talking, keep him 'conscious' until I'm able to examine him again. When that will be, I don't know… but I'm placing him in your care now!]**

"Will he… will he live?" Judy asked nervously, holding Jeremy's head in her lap.

Ema's legs wrapped around her head and reattached it to her body as she pulled out of the window. **[Provided he doesn't get shot again, and he stays awake… and his body quickly replenishes his blood… he'll survive.]** She stated.

"I… didn't think he'd be this… 'vulnerable'." Nick whispered fearfully as her fiancé held Jeremy's hand. "Every time I've seen human tech… it's been a miracle almost, like it can't fail to do anything… I've never… I didn't think a human could be so… weak."

"Yea… I mean… that 'MUTT' didn't even try to avoid being shot at, or hit by a car… and it just put itself back together and acted like nothing happened." Judy said, remembering the MUTT incident.

**[Drones don't care if they get damaged, just swap out the broken part with a fresh part and everything's normal.]** Ema explained. **[Humans… just as vulnerable as you mammals are. Punch them hard enough, throw a rock with enough force, heck even 'trip' them in just the right area… and now you see the result. I was built to keep humans alive… but my AI has lost more humans then it has saved in the seventy-seven years of service it's been active in this body.]**

Just before she pulled out of the window, she reached in with one leg and slowly wiggled it into Jeremy's hand, which slowly curled around it.

**[I'll be back Jeremy… don't you die on me!]** She stated. **[If you leave me active to deal with these… 'animals' alone… I'll never forgive you.]**

Jeremy weekly nodded his head, almost smiling a little, before Ema tugged her leg out and the window instantly snapped closed, encasing them once more in the Solar Carriage.

"For a drone, she sure cares about you Jeremy." Judy said softly.

"She has to, it's in her programming." He whispered tiredly. "Her AI was… programmed to be condescending in normal situations, but caring in serious times. Category 4 AI's are… very scripted in their responses…"

"So 'do' drones care, feel… or anything?" Nick asked.

"Only Aelita… truly feels… if there were a Category 9 perhaps… but no drone above the rank of 6 exists to my knowledge inside the base… besides Aelita." He whispered.

"Stay with us Jeremy, we'll get through this." She muttered softly.

She softly scratched his hair trying to sooth him, feeling protective of the human who was taller than her and so much more ancient than she was. He had all this powerful technology at his disposal, tools that could reshape the world around him, machines capable of mythical feats, and wonders beyond anything she could ever dream of.

And yet here he was, helpless and in pain, no less fragile compared to her or Nick.

On the table Aelita looked gloomily at Jeremy before returning her attention to the holofeed where Ema was currently tending to two of their assailant's injuries.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"_We're now entering the second hour of the Museum Hostage Crisis, as you saw moments ago it seems that the 'drones' of the Eden Facility responded to the distress of human Jeremy Wilheart, and deployed a small group of drones. These drones broke through the ZPD blockade without hesitation and barreled past them to set up a perimeter of their own, using what could only be described as an advanced protective shield the likes of which we have never seen outside of science fiction. Upon arriving mammals got a full demonstration of the power and strength of humankind's greatest weapons… we're now going to play a short clip of that now."_

The clip began playing and she watched in shock and horror as the drones turned their 'full power' against the hostage-takers. First obliterating the twenty-wheeler they used to barrel Jeremy's carriage into the museum and turning it into wreckage. Then they turned their guns to the trailer and then to an armored vehicle which they revealed, and blowing them up and turning them into molten scrap piles. Their attackers tried to fight back, but their weapons were useless as the armor of the drones was too much for their bullets, and the plasma field incinerated an RPG before it could explode and hurt the ZPD and SWAT.

"_It is unclear if these weapons are among the most powerful the humans used in their times, but it is clear that mammal technology is no match for these drones' weaponry. The unknown party that began this crisis retreated shortly after the exchange and have since taken up position around Jeremy's carriage. However, before the drones could commence an assault Jeremy spoke out loud and ordered the drones to 'avoid using lethal force', in his words, 'in the name of humanity'. Since then the drones have assumed a defensive posture, establishing their own blockade and cutting off any exit or entrance to the museum."_

Gazelle sat on a chair in her room with her friends, having called off practice that day once they realized that Jeremy was injured and being attacked to watch the scene unfold on the news. She had wanted to go down there herself to try and help, but her friends convinced her that there was nothing they could do. Reluctantly she agreed, and so she sat with her eyes glued to the tv and hoping that this would end soon, and that Jeremy would be safe and sound.

"_We also have reports of none other than the drone 'Ema', whom Jeremy Wilheart set up the agreement with the mayor to develop vaccines and cures as well other medical items, has arrived on the scene. While many speculated what this drone looked like based on the mayor's description, the speculation ends as we see her true form revealed in public."_

The news showed a clip of a giant metallic ball rolling into the scene to be caught by a RAPTOR drone, and then showed it unfurling into the enormous black spider drone. Ema looked fearsome and deadly no doubt to those who didn't know the drone, but she and her friends knew the drone to be one of the greatest creations of Jeremy's species. A walking bio-laboratory with the full medical knowledge and experience of his species, with the skill of the best surgeons his kind had to offer combined with the technical marvel and mechanical precision of a machine.

"_We're going live now to our field agent at the scene."_

"At least Ema is there, so Jeremy will be fine!" Moe said encouragingly.

"And the drones will rescue him, just watch." Franky also said.

"But why haven't they done it yet…" She muttered worriedly. "They never hesitated before, why are they waiting to rescue him. He just told them not to kill, so why aren't they rescuing him without killing them?"

"Maybe… they don't know how to?" Joe asked as the reporter on the scene was talking to Bogo and asking what SWAT and ZPD were going to do.

"_I'm afraid at this time there's nothing we 'can' do." _He replied as a Raptor marched past. _"The drones are refusing to let us past, something about this being a 'human hostage crisis' and thus saying only 'they' can handle it. Their barrier they've made is preventing us from getting in to mount any kind of rescue, and they are refusing to negotiate with the assailants at this time. For now, all we can do is watch and wait… until they figure something out."_

"That answers that question."

She nodded as the reporter continued to talk until Ema began to walk past the field, and the reporter managed to stop her.

"_Ema… a word if you please!" _The hippo asked. _"Do you have any word on Jeremy's condition?"_

The Spider drone looked at her with all eight optics before bending closer. _**[You want to know his condition?]**_ She asked dully, to which the reporter said yes. _**[Fine, don't blame me if your suddenly cut off for any reason… or out of a job.]**_

Gazelle leaned closer at those words as Ema's optics began to change color to pink.

_**[Remember, don't clench your muscles, stay as relaxed as you can… I need you to be as calm as possible to extract the bullet without causing damage. On three… one…]**_

Suddenly her optics changed to blue. _**"Aaaaaaaaaah. Haaaaaaaaaaaah!"**_ Jeremy's voice screamed in pain.

_**[I've almost got it… hang in there… your doing fine!]**_ Ema declared as her optics changed back to pink.

Hearing his scream of pain made her cry painfully, and her heart was in full agreement. His anguish, and the suffering he was under was unbelievable, and the more she listened to his scream of pain the more she hurt inside. Her heart was hurting so much, it was begging her to shut off the tv just to end the sound of Jeremy's suffering, as if that would end it.

She wanted to call him right then, to hear his voice, let him know she was there, but no matter how many times she tried Aelita refused to take it. Until finally the AI had responded with a text message which silenced all future calls from her.

{Until this situation is resolved, do not attempt to call or approach him. I understand you wish to help, but for now the best help you can provide is being safe and staying away…}

After a while Ema finished explaining Jeremy's 'condition' and stated, _**[I've stabilized him and extracted the bullet, but he's lost blood and he's still got fragments of the casing stuck in his bone. But he'll live provided he isn't injured again… there's nothing more I can do for now.]**_

The reporter was stunned while the drone walked away to Chief Bogo, and they were so stunned it took them a while to snap out of their shock and return to the main newscast. The news anchors were just as shocked and took a while to try and get back into the flow of the broadcast. _"There you have it… Jeremy's updated condition, the only question remaining as the crisis continues is whether or not we'll see the end of a once powerful and numerous species tonight… we'll keep you updated as the situation develops… this is ZNN."_

With that they went to break and all she could do was cry, wishing it would end.

(Ema's PoV)

After she handed off the bullet to Bogo for 'evidence', after she analyzed it for medical purposes, as well as communicated with a laptop to give them records for whatever purposes the police needed, she returned standing and waiting for time to pass until something happened that she could affect. During the next few hours she tended to the injuries sustained by some of the SWAT officers who had a shootout with Jeremy's assailants.

Other than that, she just stood and waited.

"I don't understand why those drones won't let us at least 'try' to negotiate with the hostage-takers?" Bogo complained as the lead RAPTOR marched past 'again'. "They can't run away; we can start negotiating to at least learn more to try and mount a rescue."

**[The Hostage Crisis Control unit's primary directive is to 'prevent' any potential harm to those outside of the plasma field.]** She explained to the bull. **[Unlike the Sentinel Drones, the HCC Drones are 'all' drones selected from units which have a kill count of no less than one thousand confirmed human casualties during the Final War, due to their combat experience and weapon effectiveness. Because of their abilities and memory, they are the most effective at killing 'any' living entity. They don't hesitate when pulling the trigger.]**

She turned to the chief of police as she explained their role and why they were acting the way they were.

**[Under normal conditions the HCC operates in three phases for 'any' situation. The first phase involves them isolating the hostages and their attackers from the public, ensuring that no one else is harmed by accident and thus minimizing the casualties expected from a situation. The second phase begins immediately after the first, and the drone's primary targets are any potential threats to the unit as a whole, and any means of escape the attackers may have to ensure they do not escape. The third and final phase is an all-out assault, storming the enemy and eliminating them as efficiently as possible, and minimize the loss of life the hostages may suffer. All of this takes place within a time frame of five minutes at most, leaving no survivors among the enemy and saving the hostages before any harm can be done to them.]**

"No disrespect to humans, but that is just downright brutal and horrible!" Bogo snarled.

**[You'd make a lousy human then.]** She stated dully. **[In the fading twilight years after the war, only the Eden Facilities had the ability to produce any substantial amount of food or provide clean water and energy. They weren't capable of feeding or housing the entire species, even taking drastic actions and reducing rations to the bare minimum, reducing food options to their most basic form wasn't enough to save the species in the long run. Humans became desperate, and hostage crises' like this became commonplace every day near one of the facilities as they tried to force more food out of the facilities. My creators needed a way to stop the situation from getting out of control, or the species as a whole would starve within a few short years… order had to be maintained to save the species, and thus the HCC Unit was developed. It may seem brutal to you… but better to kill a few to save thousands, then to sate a few and starve a species.]**

She turned back to the museum and watched the entrance, even as she tapped into the visuals of unit HCC-22.

Unbeknownst to the officers, and especially their attackers, a single FOX unit assigned to the unit also accompanied the drones as they made their way. Its primary assignment was to slip past and locate and signal the biosignatures of all enemy units. Now it was acting as their surveillance drone, monitoring the activity of the enemy.

So far, the assailants had been acting nervous and talking to each other in hushed voices, but of course the FOX drone picked everything up.

They'd been trying to find a way to break into Solar Carriage One, with all previous attempts having failed, from the bullets pinging off the window armor, to the bomb failing to blast a hole, and even their latest attempt a Thermo-mine. Now they were getting desperate, with them talking about how the only way they were getting out of this now was if they took Jeremy 'alive' and forced the drones to let them out or else.

They were trying to get creative and look at their tools to see what could penetrate the powerful defenses of the carriage.

Ten minutes later a DOG drone under the escort of a RAPTOR drone approached them with the DOG holding a rectangular case on its back.

**[Good, the nutritional supplements are here.]** She declared as the drone gave her the contained before it and the RAPTOR turned back to return to the facility.

"What is that?" Francine the elephant asked.

She opened the contained and showed them three square plates, each containing the same white paste substance with bits and pieces of solid items. **[Dinner for the hostages.]**

"Ugh, what 'is' that stuff?" A wolf officer asked. "Smells horrible!"

**[A food paste substance that uses a protein based combined with aminos, vitamins and minerals taken from various edible substances and ground together into a single product to be consumed. Everything a body needs to survive.]** She stated as she closed the container.

"Why not just bring something for them, we can easily give them something to eat." Bogo said with a grimace.

**[You can give those hostage-takers whatever you want!]** She said, taking the container and heading to the plasma field. **[I however will not trust them with any food that isn't prepared 'specifically' to provide the maximal nutritional need their bodies require in a situation like this!]**

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Jeremy… you still there?" Judy asked him tiredly as they all sat in the carriage.

It was a good thing Aelita had spared nothing when it came to the 'comfort' of his vehicle's occupants. As they had been stuck in there for now over five hours since this whole thing started.

He'd slowly recovered and was no longer feeling like he was barely alive, but he was still very weak from the confrontation with their attackers. And they, despite how Aelita had reported that they were now 'scared' after the drones terrified them with a demonstration of their power and capabilities, were now trying to break into the carriage by other means. She was keeping an eye on them using the holofeed and hidden cameras placed on the carriage to watch around.

"Yea… still here." He replied weakly. "I'm just so tired."

"Stay awake man, stay awake, you heard the metal spider lady." Nick muttered.

"She's called… Ema." He replied. "Emergency Medical Augmenter."

"You humans and your acronym names." The fox chuckled. "So, what was the surface like in your time?"

He looked up from his makeshift 'blanket', which was just Judy and Nick's vests linked together to keep him warm and safe while he sat up. "Barren…" He simply said. "There was… no green to be found anywhere near… my facility… the few times I could go up to the surface with my dad. Even a 'weed' was… prized back then. Nearest water source was heavily contaminated with radiation from the war… it was so toxic it was more yellow… the area around it would make you sick… just breathing the air for a few hours. Nuclear winter had set in and wouldn't go away for at least… another ten thousand years. Seeing the sun was… once in a lifetime opportunity."

"It was that bad?" Judy whispered. "How did you survive in those conditions?"

"Barely… that's how." He replied, remembering those days. "I only ever went to the surface a few times… but every time… I saw so much suffering. People barely able to live off of the meals we could produce and provide from the facility. Everyone was working to try and… clean the area we were living, building shelters, trying desperately to cultivate the meager land we had left… there was nothing else to do. I was living inside the base, so I at least had access to the facility's holorooms… but I had to wait almost three months in between each session… that was the only form of entertainment we had left."

"And here I am being bored out of my mind at night with nothing on tv carrots." Nick complained.

He chuckled but painfully at that.

A knock on the window occurred and Judy snapped up with gun drawn, glancing at Aelita for confirmation of who it was. She gave a thumbs up while still staring at the holofeed, and the window slowly lowered to reveal the optics of Ema the drone.

**[How's my patient doing?]** She asked as she poked her head in.

While she spoke a slot in her head opened up and a container slid out to be caught by the chair.

**[I've brought food, I had to slip it past our friends out here.]** She whispered quietly as her head detached again, and then she spoke loudly. **[Will you please not miss catching me, how hard is it to catch a metal head?]**

Judy grabbed Ema's head as she slipped her legs in and started scanning him, taking readings with her optics and looking over where the wound had been as well as other parts of his body.

**[Well your body has recovered, and your blood levels have started to stabilize, your no longer in serious danger of going into a coma, but your still terribly weak.]**

"Thanks, Ema…" He said warmly as he wearily got up and took the container from the chair. "How are mammals doing out there?"

**[A few mammals got injured from the SWAT and ZPD when a shootout occurred, a few stray bullets grazed a few pedestrians but thanks to the Biotech you gave them to research and use, everyone is alright.]** She stated once she finished her scans and reattached her head. **[Stay safe in here Jeremy, doctor's orders till you get back to the facility. As for you two, keep him safe and warm, he's past the worst of it but he's still at his weakest right now health wise.]**

"I may not be in top form Ema but I'm not on death's door…" He tried to joke before his shoulder caused him a bit of pain to shut him up.

**[Humans, even when you're in pain you never listen to your doctors!]** She muttered almost bitterly before she pulled her head out and the window closed shut.

"Dinner time everyone." He said as he opened the container and slid out the food Ema had slipped past their attackers.

'Slippery Slop' as he and his friends called it as a kid, the food from Eden Facility 17 still looked the same as he remembered it; a sloppy mess of some paste substance that lacked color, and flavor, but still contained everything they needed to survive.

"That is dinner?" Judy muttered as she took one of the square metal plates with a look of disgust.

"Yep, this is what my people ate in my day."

"No offense, but your people needed cooking lessons." Nick said.

"This was all we could make… this was all we had left."

At that the two of them glanced at their foods almost in self-shame. He could guess what they were thinking, they were so used to being able to eat whatever they wanted, freshly grown leaves or even 'meat' depending on whether they were prey or predator. The thought that they could only eat one thing because it was all they could 'afford', and not in terms of money limitation but 'resource' limitations got into them.

Without missing a beat, having done it for years, he slid out the standard eating tool, a square spoon-like utensil that had a small dent in it to scoop the slop into and hold, and dug into it.

Instantly his mouth reacted with disgust, it had zero flavor, zero taste to it. It was bland, it was dull, and it just screamed of automated nutritional value. There was no love to it, no warmth to it, no joy poured into it, not even the tiniest bit of happiness to be found in the sloppy paste.

It gave his body energy it needed, nothing more and nothing less.

'_Gazelle… I miss your food so much.'_ He thought sadly as he took another scoop. _'There's just… nothing compared to your cooking.'_

It truly was nothing compared to Gazelle's cooking, which was made of love, made to warm him, made him smile… and gave him joy. His body had become accustomed to eating true, home cooked food, made by someone 'alive' and not just chunked into a machine, ground up, and slopped into a paste to be consumed three times a day at regular intervals. Before he hadn't cared, it was the only food he knew of, but now that his body knew the difference it was disgusted having to eat this sloppy paste again.

"What is 'in' this…" Judy said with a bitter face. "I can't even say it tastes horrible; it just has no 'taste'!"

"It's an assortment of vitamins, minerals, nutrients and everything else the body needs to survive." He said. "It's concentrated so that the body gets the most nutritional value for the least amount of substance."

"Well I'll give you humans credit for one thing." Nick muttered as he took another spoonful that caused his face to scrunch in disgust. "I will never complain about what you make for dinner Carrots, ever again."

"Thanks… 'darling'…" She replied.

As they ate, he once again thought about Gazelle, and he hoped above all else that she was safe and sound, and that nobody knew he was living with her. If whoever attacked him learned of her housing him, who knew what they'd do to the pop idol to get to him. He couldn't live with himself if anything, 'anything'… happened to her.

She helped save his life, encouraged him to live, gave him a home, and when he was at his weakest and most afraid, she was at his side to help him stand again.

And above all, he just didn't want to lose her because…

'_Gazelle… please be safe…'_ He thought sadly as he finished eating his food that had no love, warmth, or care put into it, unlike her food. _'Just please… be safe… you have no idea how much you mean to me…'_

At that admittance, telling himself that the antelope was very important to him… his heart began to beat in sadness, as if the thought of losing her because he was connected to her in any way…

Made his heart feel like it would break.

(Gazelle's PoV)

She stood in the shower while her friends went out to grab some food for her and themselves, trying to let the water wash her fears away, trying to distract herself from the constant outlet of the media saying how nothing had changed…

But as she closed her eyes and thought about Jeremy, wishing to let him know she was there… anything to help him… and wanting to know he was okay from 'him' to ease her worry…

She felt her heart suddenly beat loudly one time, as if it were in pain.

She knew her heart was telling her something, she could feel it… and she looked up at the ceiling while the water poured down on her as the realization hit her.

Somewhere, Jeremy's heart was calling to hers… and once again her worry took hold of her.

And there was nothing she could do to help him.

(Jeremy's PoV)

As they put the plates away back into the container, they all heard something climb onto the roof of the carriage and felt it shift ever so slightly.

"Is it Ema again?" He asked Aelita who shook her head and showed a close up of the carriage's roof.

A Polar Bear with a gas mask and body armor and holding a torch cutter.

"Are they serious?" Nick chuckled. "Trying to cut through this thing with a torch cutter?

"Oh no…" Jeremy muttered in fear, a fear matched by Aelita.

"Jeremy, why does that sound bad?" Judy asked nervously, pulling her gun out just in case.

"Titanium is one the toughest materials my species had, it is resilient to most damage and if thick enough can take any kind of punishment. But the one weakness of Titanium is that it can be cut easily with an oxy-fueled torch cutting tool." He said as they watched the bear start it up and began drilling into the roof.

"Are you serious, something like 'that' can break this thing?" Nick said in shock. "Is there anything we can do to stop them?"

"Aelita, do we have ANY means of defense against a torch cutter?" He asked.

She looked thoughtful before pointing at Judy and mimicking her wrapping a ribbon around her ears. The rabbit looked confused but did as she asked, ripping her sleeve and wrapping it around her ears to keep them down.

Then Aelita glared up at the ceiling, raised both hands, clenched her fists, then flexed her fingers sharply while angling them as if they were talons or claws.

Suddenly the holoscreen shut down and the entire roof crackled with bursts of electricity. They heard a grunt of pain and the weight shift off the roof as the mammal on the roof was shoved off from the charge.

"This thing's just full of surprises." Nick said as the roof remained electrified.

"Yea but it won't last long." Jeremy muttered. "Aelita's channeling the energy stored in the Solar Carriage's power cells which have been charged from the solar panels imbedded in the carriage's hull. She's having to devote all the charge we have to keeping that roof electrified, and in order to maintain the output it's draining the cells faster than the panels can replace."

"Once it runs out… there'll be nothing left to stop them."

"Well why only the roof, why aren't they trying the other sides?" Nick asked.

"The other sides are all fortified." Judy realized. "Think about it, the windows are fortified, the doors are fortified, the wheels became fortified, even the 'sides' are fortified. The roof is the only thing left that 'hasn't' reacted."

"The roof is the only section that wasn't designed in a way that made it a potential target, it also happens to be the thinnest section of the carriage. The doors, windows, and everything else was designed with situations like this in mind, while the roof was left mostly unattended.

"In other words, we're running out of time…" Judy whispered nervously as the carriage's last line of defense had been activated. "I need to call Bogo…"

(Bogo's PoV)

He was just taking a quick coffee trying to stay alert as they were now entering the sixth hour of the siege and the sun was beginning to set. Then he heard a strange crackling sound coming from the museum.

"What's going on?" He asked for probably the twentieth time that day.

The patrolling Raptor paused and looked at the museum before turning to him. **[The enemy has triggered Solar Carriage One's last line of defense.]** It stated. **[The only reason for this, is if the enemy found a way to cut into the vehicle's structure, bypassing its lockout mode, in an attempt to gain access to Unit Jeremy.]**

Almost on cue his phone rang, and he picked up. "Judy, what's the situation in there?"

"_Chief, we're running out of time!"_ She said sounding panicked. _"These guys found something that can break into the vehicle. Jeremy said Aelita has electrically charged the car to keep them away, but its only a matter of time now before they break in! We can't stay in here any longer, you have to do something before we run out of power!"_

"How long do you have?" He said.

"_According to Jeremy, we have enough charge to last about two hours more before we run out… and then its only a matter of time before they cut an entrance through the roof!"_

"Just sit tight Hopps, we'll think of something!" He said, but grunted in anger as he ended the call. "If only these damn machines would let us do our jobs!"

**[Blame the HPP.]** Ema declared. **[As long as it dictates our actions, we can't do anything about it.]**

"Well can't you just… turn it off or something?" He said. "Let my SWAT do their jobs; we can go in there and try to rescue them. Sure, we may get hurt but that's our job!"

**[Yep, but its 'their' job to make sure 'you' aren't hurt.]** She stated pointing at the HCC drones. **[Believe me, if they could let you handle it, they would. Frankly I don't care who goes in there as long as Jeremy gets out. But as long as the Human Protection Protocols tell them that the enemy must be 'killed' in order to eliminate the threat to Jeremy, and Jeremy's order of 'do not use lethal force' still stands, then those drones can do nothing but wait until something with higher or equal authority states otherwise.]**

"Well can't Jeremy tell them to just 'not kill' while they rescue him?" He snapped in frustration.

**[A leads to B, which leads to C and which leads to A.]** She stated. **[The HPP state they are a lethal and constant threat to Jeremy, therefore eliminate and kill them. Jeremy says, 'don't kill', but they can't attack without killing as the HPP 'requires' them to kill, which if they do leads into Jeremy's order of not killing… there's nothing they can do for now, but wait.]**

He snarled in frustration and punched his car's hood to vent. His best officers were in there, trapped, and these drones weren't letting them do their job!

As much as he liked Jeremy, his species sure were a bunch of idiots in his opinion. Why make a group of machines like these drones, give them so much power and freedom, and then just decide to not include a 'no kill' feature when dealing with hostage issues.

**[Don't blame my creators, this was something they couldn't have planned for.]** Ema stated. **[This is a conflict of the two protocols, the Human Protection and the Human Override protocols weren't meant to be in conflict like this, this was a completely unplanned for situation. If the drones try to obey one order, they disobey the other, and neither protocol is one they are capable of disobeying.]**

"So how the hell do we 'get them out of there?" He snapped.

**[That's not my job to figure out, that's yours and their job.]** She replied, before going off to her usual position.

"I hate drones…" He grumbled as he swigged his coffee down and glared at the museum behind the plasma field.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"_We're now entering the seventh hour of the Museum Hostage Crisis, and things have taken a horrible turn for the worst."_ The news anchor said solemnly. _"According to Chief Bogo, Jeremy Wilheart's vehicle the Solar Carriage has just activated the last of its defenses, in a final effort to keep his, Judy Hopps, and Nick Wilde's attackers at bay. The vehicle that until now we believed to be invincible, having kept them safe for over six hours, withstanding 'everything' that has been thrown at it, has finally begun to succumb to their attacker's efforts. We're being told they are attempting to cut 'into' the vehicle through the roof, but the carriage has electrified itself in a last attempt to keep the hostages safe."_

Gazelle heard those and her fear of the worst happening grew only worse. Jeremy's car, as beautiful and powerful as it was, now was losing the battle to protect him from mammals wanting to do horrible things to them.

"Then why aren't you 'doing' anything?" Franky yelled at the tv.

"_Chief of Police Bogo is reported to have said that, the drones are 'preventing' us from doing our jobs, despite our wishes to go in despite the risk to our lives. We're going to play a quick clip taken by our field reporter who interviewed him just moments ago…"_

Seconds later Chief of Police Bogo was on screen looking furious and showing a bruised fist to the camera. _"I have two very good cops in there, and I have 'dozens' of brave SWAT officers who are willing to throw down their LIVES to save those hostages, but these drones will NOT let us do our JOBS!"_

The anchors returned after the clip finished. _"With time running out for the hostages, and the machines of humans apparently at a stalemate, unable to act and unwilling to let others act, only a miracle now can save the hostages. Regardless of how this situation ends, it will soon end within the next few hours or less, as we are told that the Carriage's remaining defenses will only last another hour."_

Her hands were cupped in fear, thinking of Jeremy, Judy, and Nick as they hid, hoping for somemammal, anymammal to save them.

Jeremy's species had left a treasure trove of miraculous technology, the drones were probably the highest proof of their strength, powerful and deadly, but also calm and efficient even in a crisis like this. Yet they seemed almost 'paralyzed' and powerless, unable to act because Jeremy told them not to kill.

Out of desperation, she closed her eyes, doing something she'd never done before.

'_Please… if you 'do' exist…'_ She thought hopefully, praying to the 'spirits', the humans that were Jeremy's ancestors, the humans that sheep worshipped as 'spirits' in their religion. _'If you do exist… please… save him… don't let him die! Don't let the last of your kind die this way… let him live a long life… he doesn't deserve this!'_

=Meanwhile Back at the Facillity=

**[Alert, hostage situation has become untenable… conflict between Human Protection Protocol and Human Override Protocol must not continue. Unable to find a counter measure!]** Sentinel stated in its matrix. **[Solar Carriage One breach imminent, Unit Jeremy's life at stake, HPPs dictate action. Error, HOPs order still stands, unable to alter or change Hostage Crisis Control unit's directives and standing order while HPP and HOP are in conflict!]**

As its matrix hummed and spun, an orange light appeared for just a fraction of a moment, and then vanished.

**[Unknown order being received, priority one status, unknown source… order… Neutralize enemy units using whatever force deemed adequate by HCC unit in the field in accordance with the HPP. Checking for error… no error detected… HOP order does not conflict with new order… checking for errors…]**

**[Error, order being issued without Sentinel Approval… unable to cancel order, query into order's source unanswered!]**

(HCC-1's PoV)

It stopped moving as it neared the standing position where it started for its patrol route. New orders had just arrived, orders that did not originate from Sentinel yet still carried a command priority that surpassed it. The orders were different, and upon receiving them it turned to the plasma field.

**[All units, report to standard positions!]** It declared.

A few minutes later and the four DOG drones sent to guard the other exits returned to its location and as one, entered the plasma field and sealed it behind them. Once they were in position it took steps forward, just as the FOX unit reported that the electrical surges protecting Solar Carriage One finished, leaving the vehicle exposed.

**[All units… prepare for assault!]**

(Multi PoV)

Jeremy, Judy and Nick watched as Aelita wearily collapsed, unable to stand any longer as the electrical field protecting the roof cut off its defensive shield.

"That's it, there's nothing left to stop them!" He said as they heard a mammal climbing onto the carriage's roof.

"Jeremy, put the vests on and stay as curled up as you can!" Judy said. "No matter what, stay down and leave it to us, we'll keep you safe!"

**[Attention enemy units!]** A digital voice declared loudly, causing them all to pause. **[By order of the Human Protection Protocols, you will be 'neutralized'!]**

Outside Bogo looked as the drones made their declaration in confusion.

**[All enemy units who throw down their weapons and surrender will be not be harmed!]** The lead Raptor declared. **[All enemy units who refuse will be neutralized, 'by any means adequate'! You have sixty seconds to comply!]**

"They can't be serious?" Bogo muttered. "The hostages are still in there; how can they just risk their lives when they're still at risk!"

**[They obviously have been given an order and are obeying it, though I am curious by the word 'neutralize', normally the HPP tells them to eliminate not neutralized threats to human survival.]** Ema muttered as she used one leg and jabbed her abdomen to refill her syringe of Biotech Gel. **[Either way, they're done waiting.]**

"It's a bluff, it's gotta be a bluff to make them surrender!" Bogo muttered.

**[Drones don't bluff… only a category 8 AI can bluff… Aelita in there can bluff but if she's ever lying, you'll never know.]**

**[Thirty seconds left!]** The drone declared.

"Jeremy, why would they attack, you said they 'can't' attack because of the conflict in their programming?" Judy asked in confusion.

"I know, but it looks like they got over it… I just hope that when they mean 'neutralized', they mean to subdue and not kill." He said. "Either way, we have no more power, so I cannot send out a msg to order them to do anything else."

Outside their attackers were beginning to panic, beginning to 'fear' what the drones were going to do. Some were readying weapons and getting into positions, while others started saying they should surrender. Jeremy hoped that they would all surrender to avoid any bloodshed, and he was about to tell Aelita to lower the shields on the windows so he could talk some sense into them, when the drones started counting down the last five seconds.

**[Five seconds… Four… Three… Two… One…] **HCC-1 stated.

"WAIT WE GIVE, WE GIVE!" Two Mammals shouted as they ran out of the museum, threw their weapons down and waved their hands in the air with their masks off.

**[Zero!]** It finished and 'roared'. **[KRYAAAAAAAAAAAWR!]**

As one all the DOG drones ran forward with teeth bared, ran past the mammals who cowered and threw themselves on the ground and covered their heads, and stormed into the museum. Instantly bullets fired and even a few grenades went off, but the drones did not care as they lunged and assaulted the mammals at their entrenched positions.

From behind the FOX drone appeared and confused the few at the rear of the museum and created a hologram of a dozen FOX units, which all swarmed and lunged at them, causing them to miss wildly as they tried to destroy the drones.

Yet for every drone that was shot the mammal's felt their teeth sink into, roll over, screaming and shouting in pain as their flesh was twisted and dug into and forcing them to drop their weapons.

Inside the vehicle Jeremy covered his ears to try and drown out the screams of pain and the agony his attackers were suffering because of this whole situation. All he could do was wait it out, and hope nobody died at the very least.

As quickly as it started, it ended, and soon silence reigned as the final shots were spent.

HCC-1 stepped past the two mammals who surrendered, and into a scene of carnage and bloodshed. There was blood everywhere, dripping from the teeth of the DOG drones as they each held their targets down, keeping them from moving and maximizing the potential suffering they would feel should they resist.

It looked around, analyzed the situation… and declared, **[All enemy threats… neutralized… number of enemy casualties… zero!]**

With that the drones forced them to their feet, and forced them to leave the museum at 'teeth point' to make them obey. Once they were outside, kneeling and secured, the DOG drones deactivated the field to allow Ema to approach and treat their injuries, before eventually turning them over to the ZPD.

Bogo ordered his officers to take them all into custody, and once the field was down, they were pulled away at gunpoint into a large van and escorted away from the scene under heavy police escort.

Meanwhile, Jeremy 'finally' opened the door to a scene of carnage, of blood, and felt a lump in his throat.

'_This was all my fault…'_ He thought quietly. _'If I had just…'_

"Jeremy… are you alright?" Bogo asked as he and other officers approached alongside Ema.

He looked at the chief of police while Judy and Nick got out and stretched, having been cramped in the carriage all day.

"No…" He whispered.

Ema didn't give him much time to talk to the ZPD, as she stepped over and gave him a full scan and declared that he was in better shape than before, but he 'needed' to return to the Eden Facility for a full medical checkup.

As they spoke a group of eight RAPTOR drones ran in, Sentinel Drones, stating they were replacing the HCC unit as those drones had returned to the base now that the crisis was over. They were ordered to escort Jeremy back to the base for safety and to ensure he returned for medical treatment.

"Thank you all for protecting me." Jeremy said to Bogo as HORSE trotted in and reattached itself to the Solar Carriage to pull it. "But… I'll be safe returning to the base on my own with the drones. Judy, Nick… thank you for keeping me safe and helping me."

"Anytime buddy… don't be a stranger now!" Nick said with a smile, but he looked glumly as the human slowly entered the carriage's front seat with Aelita and it sealed up.

**[All units… assume defensive formation… move out!]**

**[Destination locked… Eden Facility 17!]** Horse declared, and trotted off.

As a single group all eight raptors marched in slow formation, forming a diamond perimeter as HORSE trotted out and set the pace.

"_And with that the hostage crisis has finally come to an end after over seven hours…"_ The news anchor said. _"We can see Jeremy's carriage leaving the destroyed museum, turning now back the way it came, heading toward the human facility. While this situation has shocked and frightened many a mammal, a sigh of relief can be had as despite everything that happened, nomammal's life was lost. This is ZNN, we'll continue our coverage of these events later…"_

Gazelle got up and quickly put her shoes on. "Come on guys, we're going to the base!" She said instantly.

While Gazelle and her friends quickly drove through traffic heading toward the human base, Jeremy and his convoy of drones slow trotted toward their destination. Every mammal they passed by was watched by the drones, and every corner they turned he feared.

He hated this, truly hated this, he didn't want to think of mammals as a threat to himself, but now he felt a twinge of fear each corner they turned.

"Why did this have to happen Aelita?" He asked his AI friend.

The AI looked up at him with a sad shrug.

"I just wanted to help… why do they see me as a threat?" He whispered sadly.

She looked up at him before shaking her head in sadness, changing into a caterpillar, then a butterfly, and then back before shaking her head again.

"They don't want things to change… do they fear me 'that much' and what I could do?" He asked himself as he looked out the window. "Maybe… we should stay underground… and not come out ever again if this is going to happen again."

He sniffed a little as tears began to break through. "I don't want any more harm caused by me… I don't want anyone to get hurt… what if next time its…"

Aelita frowned as she curled in on herself, unable to answer him. She honestly thought things were going in the right direction, but apparently, she miscalculated. She figured the drone's presence, the mystery of the power inside the base would be enough deterrent. Apparently, she calculated wrong.

All they could do now was wait for the trip to end, and after a while they arrived at their destination. The drones established a perimeter while the carriage safely entered the underground passage of the West Entrance where they were let out and slowly approached the entrance to the base.

But not before…

"Jeremy!" Gazelle yelled.

He turned and saw with Aelita that Gazelle was running alone down the entryway toward him. After handing Aelita's sphere to a nearby Raptor he turned just in time to be pulled into a strong hug by the pop idol.

She had just arrived after Jeremy's carriage rolled into the passageway, and had to yell and demand to be allowed in, before the drones stated that she could go in but only if she went alone.

Upon seeing the human, she ran and pulled him into a hug as tight as she could, trying to comfort him as best she could from the horrible ordeal he just went through.

"Jeremy… I was so scared for you!" She whispered fearfully. "I kept thinking the worst… and when I heard your scream of pain…"

He smiled slightly and gently patted her back as she cried into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to scare you or frighten you… I couldn't control the situation at all."

"It doesn't… matter… as long as your okay!" She whimpered, still hugging him.

They stayed that way, holding one another, comforting one another with the drones silently observing and watching them. Aelita smiled warmly as they hugged and occasionally sobbed into one another's shoulders, staying as close as they could. She had been so terrified of losing him, that all she wanted to do was hold him close to her and never let him go.

She looked up a little and, without warning, shoved her lips against his and causing him to feel shock.

Yet after a few seconds, he closed his eyes and simply pushed back into her lips. For some reason he just couldn't respond any other way. It was like his heart just needed to let her know, to tell her that he 'needed' her.

They simply stayed that way, lips pressed and sharing a kiss that told everything they wanted to tell the other. She feared losing him, he feared losing her… he needed her, she needed him.

After a while they parted, both of them feeling slightly confused, but as with their 'first' kiss, they didn't seem to care that this happened a second time.

"Jeremy…" She whispered quietly to him. "I'm… sorry for… kissing you like that."

He smiled apologetically before hugging her this time, holding her close to him. "I'm sorry too… listen… I don't… know how I truly feel about this… about 'us'…"

He admitted he was really happy with her, he loved being with her, she made him happy and she made him feel special and 'she' was special to him.

"I'm really sorry that I kissed you at the party, but I need to think… I need to truly understand how I feel about you."

"I need to think too." She admitted as well.

Her heart and mind were in confusion, her heart wanted to keep going, to admit she openly loved him, but her mind was still confused and still unsure if she was truly in love with him or if it was something else, she needed time to figure out her feelings.

**[Jeremy, as much as I would like to admit that I have nothing better to do than watch you waste time I DO have things to do!]** Ema declared over the intercom. **[You still have fragments of a bullet in you and I need to get them out, now get IN here before I come OUT there!]**

He sighed as he nodded. "Take care of yourself Gazelle…" He whispered as he let her go and turned to leave.

"When will I see you again?" She asked quickly.

He looked back and frowned. "I don't know… I need to stay here where I won't endanger any other mammal… it's for the best." He whispered painfully. "Please… don't come back here until… it's safe… if anything happens to you… because of me…"

He slowly went into the base with the drones following behind.

Just before he closed the door however, Gazelle yelled, "Don't leave us please!" as the door closed.

"Don't hide from me… please…" She whispered sadly, before turning and returning to her friends outside to return to Tundra Town.

Meanwhile Jeremy lay on a biobed naked as it clamped shut over him while Ema prepared a mask to anesthetize him.

**[This surgery is going to take a while, despite modern medical advances… well modern by 'our' definition.]** She declared while checking her plasma knife on one of her legs. **[The bullet fragments are completely embedded into your bone; it's going to take me a while to safely extract them without causing permanent damage to you.]**

"Ema…" He whispered nervously as she leaned over him and prepared to make the first incision while feeling the anesthetic take effect. "Can you… please… wait until I fully wake up?"

She glanced at him before taking one leg and caressed his forehead.

**[I won't leave your side for even a nanosecond Jeremy… I'll stay right here until your fully conscious!]**

He smiled as he slowly fell asleep, and Ema left his forehead alone.

**[Idiot… of course I'll wait for you to wake up.]** She replied dully before making the first incision. **[That's medical bay regulation two-two-six beta, the EMA of the facility is to remain by the patient's side until they are conscious after preforming a surgical procedure.]**

With that she began performing the surgery to rid his body of those metal fragments stuck to his bone.

(Various News Channels)

"_This just in the assailants of the Museum Hostage Crisis have accepted a plea deal from City Hall, in exchange for life in prison without parole. This comes in just 'two' days after Human 'Jeremy Wilheart' and his carriage were viciously and savagely attacked without provocation, leading to one of the longest hostage crises in Zootopian history. In exchange for information the attackers will spend the rest of their lives behind bars."_

"_A vicious call for the deaths of those 'responsible' for this horrifying attack against what mammals can only describe as an 'angel among demons', with mammals demanding that those responsible for threatening Jeremy's life face the needle…"_

"_More bad news as protestors outside city hall demand the mayor do 'something' to remove the threat of the machines, as those who feared the human technology before were moved to silence after Jeremy's efforts now have new voice after witnessing the destructive power of the drones' weapons firsthand. Counter protestors at the scene outnumbering them and threats became heated…"_

"That human and his tech is a threat to ALL of us!"

"Why don't you just go back to the farm Wilber!"

"That human is going to kill us all and your just blindly welcoming him!"

"That 'adult human' is smaller than my ten year old SON!"

"_ZPD raided SEC-TEC, the security task force giant this morning, seizing assets and information as the now 'incarcerated terrorists' revealed that they were working for the security giant, responsible for loaning out private military assets for 'security' purposes. However due to legal loopholes and a lack of evidence regarding who it was that 'hired' the security company, the mayor was unable to catch the true suspect. Despite their claims that they 'don't know' the mammal's name, only a number which does not seem to exist anymore in their records, this has not stopped local law firms from launching lawsuits and dragging the company into multiple legal battles. Investors once associated with SEC-TEC are now pulling out after the Hostage Crisis, and stocks for the company have now plummeted to almost 'nothing', with finance experts saying they'll be bankrupt before the end of the month if this continues."_

"_Outside the human base, the machines have started to encroach on the surface, setting up a perimeter covering the entrances and watching the street, scanning and scaring any mammal that dares to approach. Mayor Lioness advises all mammals to steer clear of the entrances until further notice for their safety, and if they have to walk near, urges them to not appear threatening and give the drones no reason to harm them!"_

"_In an interview with Zootopia's own Pop Star idol Gazelle she expressed her feelings of this incident."_

"_What just happened… is a tragedy, nothing less… Zootopia is a place where all animals come to be treated equal, from the smallest shrew to the largest giraffe. We come here… to embrace what makes us each unique… special… different. We come here to experience 'change'… a change in our views… a change in our world… but this is not the Zootopia I believe us to be if we cannot embrace change with hope."_ Gazelle said with a hurt smile. _"Jeremy is a human… we have to accept that. His species was before us, they ruled before us… they ruled 'over' us… they were the apex predators, that all predators feared, and prey respected. Now they hide underground, because a few of us are scared of what Jeremy represents… and that is change."_

"_He did not want to wake up in our time… he wasn't 'meant' to be with us… but he is with us, and he is alone. He woke up in our world, frightened and alone, on deaths door and begging to be saved. We saved him, and in return he tries to help us… to leave 'us' a legacy of his species… so that they would not be forgotten, so that their sacrifices would not be in vain. To help build a future we strive for here… and in return we try to kill him, because a few of us fear the change he brings."_

"_We think ourselves civilized… we think ourselves smart… and yet when we encounter another species that came before us… this is what happens? Jeremy tells us that his species tore each other apart, far worse than 'we' do as predator and prey species, and humans were all the same species. For their horrible mistakes… they paid the ultimate price… and that's what Jeremy truly is, a symbol of what we are to become if 'we' don't learn to accept change. Please… don't fear him because of what he represents… embrace him, for what he is."_

(Aelita's PoV)

She frowned as she watched everything playing out while Jeremy slept in his biobed.

She knelt down and closed her eyes, extended her left hand and shifted her right… and worked her skills.

First, she took a snapshot of Jeremy's biobed, with Ema hovering over it, scanning him and examining him inside while concealed.

Next, she accessed the mammal's interweb, created her own domain… and flung it across the web so it would be seen by as many as she could.

Finally, she uploaded the image of Jeremy's biobed with Ema… with the caption…

"If one could be in the 'Two' Best Hands one could have… then he is in best 'Eight' Hands of anyone."

She smiled softly as she decided to work her new domain, and developed a chat room… using the username 'A'.

Within seconds someone entered it.

{What is this?} They typed. {Can anyone see me?}

She smirked and responded. {No, but I can see 'you'~ ; ) }

{Who are you… how'd you get that?}

She smiled. {Is it true what they say, are we to blind to find a way… fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today… come into my world, see through my eyes… try to understand, don't want to lose what we have…}

.

.

.

=Author's Notes=

I NEED A VACATION!

Seriously people, this is going to be the last chapter for at least a month… I NEED to rest… I have to write for my other stories and this story littearlly driving me crazy trying to make it XD

Review away, please keep telling me what you like or love about it, if you hate it or whatnot, I read every review and take all criticism. The drone chapters return after this, and we'll return to drone shorts in the future.

But before I go, a bonus short~! Enjoy…

Bonus Short – Midnight Heart Stroll

(Jeremy's PoV)

He sat in the command center as Aelita rang Gazelle's phone number, he knew it was close to midnight, but he just wanted to call her to ask her for a short favor.

"Gazelle?" He asked as Aelita nodded.

"_Jeremy, what's wrong?"_ She asked quietly.

"Gazelle, can I ask you for a favor… I was wondering if you'd be willing to spend a few minutes with me."

"_Of course, I'll be there in a few minutes…"_

"No… I'll bring the Carriage to you… I just want to spend some time with you… I… need to be with you for… a short while is all…" He whispered.

"_Oh… okay… I'll wait for you then… at the Tundra Down Hotel!"_

"Thank you…" He whispered as Aelita hung up. "If you don't mind Aelita, I'd like to be alone…"

The AI was confused a little, but nodded in acceptance as he stood up and walked out of the command center without her. As he climbed in and told HORSE the destination, three RAPTOR drones took up positions and marched alongside the carriage.

It's been several days since the incident, and since then he's told the mayor that until he's sure he'll have drones escort him while outside the base without Judy and Nick, and if they are with him only one drone will follow the carriage at all times.

They slowly made their way to Tundra Town, the drones easily keeping pace and keeping his area clear while they made the journey. The snow and ice of Tundra Town didn't slow or deter them as they exited the main freeway and toward the hotel Gazelle was staying at.

He saw her at the entrance wearing sunglasses and a hat to disguise her, but he recognized her instantly. Once he rolled up, she climbed into the backseat where he was and HORSE trotted on, flanked by the RAPTORS.

"HORSE, just keep going until I tell you otherwise, stay in Tundratown."

**[Understood!]**

"Jeremy, how are you feeling?" She asked sweetly.

"Scared… and lost." He whispered. "All my life Gazelle… I was trained to rebuild the world, told it would fall to my generation to make it better… I truly believed… that I could make a difference."

He sighed as he tapped a button on the table, and it brought up a holographic image of his father and him.

"Dad told me, we'd redeem our species… make amends and fix the damage done by my kind. I truly… truly believed… I was making a difference these past few weeks. But all I did was cause more damage… now I'm lost and not sure if I should keep trying or… just stop and let 'nature' take its course."

"Jeremy… you are making a difference; you are doing good." Gazelle said sweetly to him with a smile, holding his hand with her own. "As far as I'm concerned, as many mammals are concerned… your species are beautiful, wonderful… amazing creatures. Before 'you' all we had were myths… legends, stories we told our children to frighten them into behaving! Now we know what you really are… that you were just like us, mammals trying to make it every day…"

He looked into her eyes before he sighed and pushed the button off.

"I'm just so scared for my life now Gazelle… I'm afraid to leave the base without drones to protect me…" He admitted. "And I hate it… this isn't what I was trained for, this isn't what I wanted to do… why do they hate me?"

"They don't… they just don't understand you." She said sweetly, wrapping an arm around him and holding him close. "But when they will… I promise you… you will never have to fear mammals ever again."

She snuggled closer and smiled. "I don't fear you… and some mammals when you first appeared thought you would hurt me."

He leaned into her warm embrace, just enjoying her warmth as he held her as well.

"Do you mind if I act just a little selfish tonight…" He asked honestly.

"What do you need?"

"Just… stay with me for a little while…" He whispered. "At least until I… fall asleep… I just need to feel… warm… it's not very warm in the base… you know how it is, cold metal, bad food, drones…"

She smiled happily as she snuggled him and nodded, staying with him until he fell asleep, while HORSE took a random course around Tundratown that always resulted in them passing the hotel where she stayed.


	21. Drone Chapter 2

Drone Chapters

The Sacred Duct Tape Search Epilogue

(Aelita's PoV)

She was busily managing her new website's various chat rooms in the command center, interacting with the now thousands of mammals online that had found her website almost every minute. Most were gossiping, talking about random things related to humans, others sharing their stories in the chatrooms and even the forums she's created, but most were asking questions.

She naturally had the username 'A', not to disguise herself, but so everyone knew who she was as the creator of the website.

There were dozens and dozens of users asking her questions about humans, what were they like, were they predators or prey, did they fly, did they swim, did they have fur or feathers or scales or what?

She just chuckled to herself every time someone asked a random question, but for the most part she stayed silent, letting them discuss and talk themselves. The only times she's spoken out was when someone asked her directly, and she'd respond with a vague reply or simply a no or a yes.

There'd been a lot of talk about the recent attack on Jeremy's life, most blaming the pharmaceutical companies or perhaps the fossil fuel industry for trying to stop Jeremy bringing an end to their reigns in the industries. She had no proof to blame either party, but that wasn't to say she wasn't keeping her eyes on them.

Speaking of her eyes…

She suddenly became aware of a broadcast which used the term 'human' and 'duct tape', something she wasn't looking for but caught her attention, nonetheless. Within microseconds she investigated the broadcast and watched it.

"_That's right, fresh from the Colonel's workshop, it's the newest essential tool to everymammal's working needs, 'Ancient Tape'!"_

It was an advertisement featuring a porcupine in overalls like a typical factory worker, holding up a roll of 'duct tape'.

"_We all know Buck Tape is tough as iron, sticks like glue and will always pull through, but is it as tough as what 'humans' used? Let's put them to the test!"_

The ad changed over to show a pair of vehicles with a pair of poles sticking up and a skunk wrapping tape around the two.

"_We put the leading brand of Buck Tape to the test against the newest creation from the Colonel's Workshop, in a test of strength 'Ancient Tape' outlasted Buck Tape by hours!"_

The ad did a split screen with the same two vehicles pulling away from each other while the tape kept them together but with different tape. They did a fast forward and showed the 'leading brand' rip after an hour, but even after six hours the 'Ancient Tape' still kept the two truck together. Only after one of the polls broke did the trucks separate…

"_It's so strong that this roll humans called 'Duct Tape', even after sitting in their base for millennia, still works!"_

She watched as they showed the last roll of Duct Tape that was on the manifest, but also now missing having been given to Lola, was shown on the ad and sure enough it showed that despite sitting in the base and some of the stickiness from the edges of the tape were lost the core of it still stuck to a tire and blocked a hole they made in it. The Polar Bear showing it off refilled it with air and gave a thumbs up before driving away!

"_For such a humble tool, this 'Duct Tape' is so good and so versatile, that we're told it had over a million uses! We put that to the test too!"_

She stared a bit wider eyed as the ad showed a fast forward of several mammals creating a 'glider' in Rainforest District and then launching off a branch to glide down gracefully.

"_We made a glider out of nothing but duct tape and some poles! If that don't tell you how useful this thing is, I don't know what to say! If it was good enough for humans, it's good enough for me!"_

"_Ancient Tape, new from the Colonel's Workshop!" _The Porcupine said with a wink. _"Coming to a hardware store near you!"_

The ad ended and she just stared open mouthed at it, before busting out laughing and falling onto her side.

She was honestly surprised that they managed to reverse engineer the Duct Tape roll so quickly, despite the chemical aging that no doubt took place, it probably only stayed thanks to the very sterile environment it was found in by the drones. It was also surprising where it ended up, as she had been curious what became of it.

Though she made a note to herself to send a correction, it wasn't a 'million' uses, it was more like half a billion, not withholding similar uses such as repairing a leaky boat or patching a leaking boat.

Ancient Predator and Modern Prey Pt 4

(Lula's PoV)

**[Commencing scan…]**

"Come on guys do we 'have' to do this, you know it's me!" She said bitterly as the drones scanned her 'again', despite the fact that the drones outside the elevator on the surface level letting her past 'after' scanning her.

The three Raptor drones didn't care or respond to her statement, just scanning her from top to bottom, examining the bags of groceries she'd used the last of her money to buy and keeping weapons trained on her the entire time. The drones had increased the level of security for the base, taking to the surface to establish a perimeter. The street around the elevator entrance was practically a ghost town as any cars that were parked nearby were gone, and mammals avoided it as best they could. The same was true for the dug-out entrance which currently housed Jeremy's Solar Carriage, last she saw they were performing fixes and guarding it with patrolling Raptor and Dog drones, and even seemed to have pulled a turret from the base to plant in the ground.

While she was understanding the drone's reasons for increased security, she thought they were going way overboard.

**[Negative read on weapons, you may enter Savior One.]** The lead Raptor said, withdrawing its weapons and standing aside.

"Finally." She whispered, walking past them and into the base.

Unfortunately, the second she stepped passed the door it closed, and dozens of concealed turrets built into the wall pushed out and took direct aim at her.

"Jeremy is letting me live here for free, I just got scanned 'twice' by machines armed to the teeth before being let in, I 'think' you can trust me!" She growled while staring at the turrets.

There was a moment of silence before the turrets all retracted and concealed themselves again.

"I swear this base…" She muttered quietly while walking on. "I'm all for keeping Jeremy safe, but this is all a bit much."

She'd heard about what happened to Jeremy's vehicle only after she was walking back to the base, choosing to go down the West Entrance instead of the usual East Entrance since it was closer while job hunting. Before she could turn into the tunnel entrance a swarm of drones stormed past her, running in formation and moving as fast as she'd ever seen a drone run. When she tried to enter the base to ask questions it was on high alert and drones were taking up combat positions, the turrets built into the base's walls and even some of the corridors had been deployed, and it was only thanks to seeing 'Pete' and asking questions did she get any answers.

Hearing what happened she asked why Pete wasn't going, or indeed why none of the drones aside from 'Ema' weren't going, the drone simply told her that the 'HCC Drones' were the only units in the base permitted to handle a hostage crisis. All the other drones simply were told to standby, defend the base, establish defensive perimeters and await orders.

When she learned of the situation and hearing how he'd been shot and badly injured, she'd tried to go and help however she could, feeling a sense of protection over Jeremy for what he did for her and being the first to actually save his life. Yet she found the SWAT not letting mammals approach the scene, and could only watch on the tv of a local bar with other fearful mammals as the hostage crisis unfolded.

But she also learned the terrible power of the drones, their fearsome strength, the ferocity they can unleash and just how helpless they can become because of one human. When Jeremy had been shot, the drones went in guns blazing, prepared to slaughter any threat to him without hesitation, but with just one order they found themselves unable to act for hours.

She'd managed to catch a glimpse of Jeremy's carriage as night approached while heading back to the base, and tried to get close, but the drones instantly sighted her with tracking lasers and showed their diamond tipped teeth. Even Pete, or PT-173, which was with the group escorting Jeremy kept its weapon trained on her until they passed.

That was also when she knew, despite how her friend acted while in the base, the moment Jeremy's life was threatened it would not hesitate to fire at her if it perceived her as a potential threat to the human's life.

She, 'Savior One' as she was known to the drones, was just as much a potential threat as the mammals who held him hostage.

She didn't' blame them, they were only machines doing their job, obeying their programming. It wasn't their fault that they thought of her as a threat, they just wanted to protect Jeremy's life at all costs.

But it still hurt her knowing that her friend, was only her friend provided Jeremy was safe and sound.

Speaking of Pete.

She saw the scarfed drone marching down the hallway and paused to chat really quick.

"Hey Pete." She said calmly.

The drone paused in its trek to acknowledge her. **[Greetings Savior One.]**

"How is Jeremy feeling?" She asked softly.

**[Unit Jeremy remains asleep in Bio-stasis, pending recovery from his surgical procedure.]**

"How long does it take, I figured with how advanced human medicine is he'd be fine in hours?"

**[While medical technology advanced greatly during the twilight hours following the final war, Unit Ema is keeping Jeremy in the medical bay in Bio-stasis until his body fully recovers from the procedure. Despite the use of Biotech Gel to repair the damage done to his bone, muscle and tissue, Ema has declared it necessary to keep him asleep until further notice.]**

"Doctors always act overprotective of their patients huh?" She said trying to joke to the drone.

**[Unit Jeremy's health is of vital importance.]** Pete stated. **[If Unit Ema declares Jeremy's condition requires him to remain asleep then we will obey.]**

"Cool your flames boy, I wasn't saying anything against it!" She said, surprised that the drone would act so defensive. "Well I'm back from grocery shopping, brought what food I could with what little I have left… do you think you can take it to wherever drones take food?"

She held out the bag of groceries to her friend, who took it and marched off down a side corridor while she headed to her room.

"I always wonder where they take the food?" She asked herself.

She walked into her room after a while and sighed while taking a smaller bag of some items and putting them away in the miniature fridge she'd hooked up to the facility's power grid. Turns out Jeremy's species was very efficient, and designed the room's power outlets so that, despite not being intended to power mammal technology it easily was able to compensate and power it.

"So, Lula, let's tick off today's list of accomplishments…" She muttered while putting some sodas, jams, sweeteners and random assortment of wild grass spices away. "The bar waitress gig turned you down, the cashier position at the bakery said no, the dish washing spot at the restaurant was filled, and you just spent the last of your money buying food for you and Jeremy that… thanks to human tech will last you fifteen months."

She sighed bitterly as she put the last of her items away.

"No degree, no job prospects… you're too ashamed to go back to your parents, you don't even want to 'think' about your ex… what are you going to do, become a stripper? Work the 'streets'?" She muttered, finding the idea disgusting. "Sure, it was a temp job, but that construction job at least would have lasted you eight months. I suppose I could keep learning more about human engineering… that might get me something."

It was something she was actually liking, learning more about how the drones were built, learning from Jeremy, at first to help the drones and keep them maintained and maybe use those skills to get a dream job as an engineer or mechanic.

Then all the craziness with the hostage crisis happened, and now here she was with nothing to do and no direction in life.

"I know mom wanted to take loans to pay for my college tuition, but I just couldn't let her go bankrupt trying to get me somewhere in life…"

**[Attention 'Lula', Sentinel Drones report that there is a mammal requesting entry to meet you.]** The Base's AI, Sentinel, declared over the intercom.

"Who is it?" She asked.

**[The unit's identification is Julio, what action should the drones take?]**

"Julio… haven't heard from him since high school." She muttered. "Let him in!"

Moments later the door rang, and she opened to find Pete outside. **[The food has been deposited and has been processed per your request.]** It said.

"Great, my old friend is visiting, do you think you could bring him and me some grub while he's here?" She asked excitedly, brushing her fur to be presentable.

**[As you wish…]** It stated before turning and walking down the corridor, closing the door.

After several minutes she finished tidying up and the door rang again, and she opened it to see Julio her old friend from high school standing there with a Dog drone overseeing him.

"Julio!" She said happily pulling the antelope into a hug. "How have you been buddy?"

"I've been looking all over for you." Julio said as he entered with the door shutting behind him. "Ever since you broke up with your boyfriend and woooooah…"

"Yea I was like that the first time I was shown this place!" She chuckled as she showed him around. "And this isn't even the swaggiest room, this is 'standard living', might as well be a mansion compared to what I was in before!"

She sat down on the couch and invited him to sit next to her.

"I got a huge tv, I get all the channels, twenty-four seven room service, cleaners come in every day, air conditioning 'and' heating, suuuuuuper comfy couch and bed… place makes what me and my ex had look like crap!" She said with a grin. "And I don't have to pay a buck for rent or anything here, it's all free of charge!"

"Yea… about your ex, what happened between you two?" He asked quietly. "I figured you two were happy together?"

"Eh he was alright at first, but once I lost my job when they found this base, we had to rely on his income alone and he started drinking…" She muttered quietly. "Then things started going bad to worse… then one night I'm coming home from job hunting to find him walking back drinking… and then we got into a fight and he pretty much started assaulting me…"

Truth was he was a decent enough antelope, but his drinking always was a problem, always got pushy toward her because of it and it only escalated after she lost her job.

"So how did you end up living down here, and why not move back into your parent's home if your ex got so bad?"

She smiled at that as the door rang for the third time. "I'll show you how!" She said, getting up and opening the door. "Pete, how's it going my friend!"

**[The food you requested…]** It stated, holding two square trays of the 'standard nutritional supplement' that the base provided for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or whenever she asked for it.

"Thanks, come on in I want you to meet my old friend!" She said, taking the trays and walking in. "Old friend Julio, meet new friend 'Pete', or as it calls itself…"

The drone and her friend looked at each other, with Julio looking a little nervous as the drone stared at him. **[This unit's identification is PT-173.]**

"But I call him Pete!" She said cheerfully.

"Hi… Pete?" Julio said quietly.

"Anyway Julio, Pete is how I found my new home here!" She said cheerfully, putting the two trays down and opening the mini fridge. "My ex had just decided to shove me, yelling how I never 'put out' for him… and then my rescuer here scares him off right after taking a bottle to the face."

She smiled as she pulled out some jam and the wild grass spice.

"After my ex leaves me to die, my literal armored knight picks me up and, after talking to Jeremy, told me I was welcomed to live in this base until I was ready to leave."

"You know uh… you could live with me… I don't mind living on the couch." Julio said nervously.

**[Savior One has chosen to reside in Eden Facility 17 until she decides to leave.]** Pete stated.

"Lula can pick where she lives on her own." He said, sounding braver than he was before. "You're not in charge of her life!"

"Guys, I know you both are worried about me, but for now I'm staying here." She said with a chuckle. "Besides I can't help with paying the rent Julio, I have no more money… and until I can find a job… I can't really go anywhere else."

"I don't mind, I'll pay for everything!"

She smiled a little at that, she knew Julio had a bit of a crush on her in high school, and as sweet as he was, she wasn't really interested in dating again so soon after just getting out of a relationship.

"That's sweet of you, but for now I'll stay here until something happens." She said sitting back down. "And on that note, lunch time!"

She took one of the trays and spread some jam and flicked some wild grass spice into the mostly whiteish paste that had flecks of 'stuff' spluttered into it. At the same time Julio took his tray and used the built-in spoon to take a taste.

"Bleh… this taste's 'horrible'… and that's saying something positive, it doesn't have any taste!" Julio said while scrunching his face. "Who 'made' this stuff?"

She pointed at the drone who simply stared silently at them.

"I guess cooking lessons aren't something humans did?"

"No, this is just what humans ate." She said while sliding the jam and spice to him. "Here, put some of that in, it gives it some taste."

She'd gotten used to eating the food here, though it took her a few tries to make it taste better. It was so bland and tasteless that the only way to even make it 'taste' like something her stomach could enjoy was if she put jam and some spices into it 'after' it was served to her. When asked why they made this food, Pete simply told her that after a period of twelve years following the conclusion of the Final war, humans took more and more drastic measures to make their food supplies last as long as possible.

Eventually it got to the point where the only thing available to eat was this 'paste', which while contained all the necessary vitamins and minerals needed to sustain them, lacked any and all taste. The humans even made it so that the drones controlled exactly how much each human needed to sustain themselves and never exceeded the amount.

While it was drastic and desperate, she could only marvel at how efficient they were, the food she'd bought that day would only have lasted her, if she'd cooked it, two or three weeks if she rationed it. Yet the drones' efforts made it so that the food would last her fifteen months using this paste meal. Though she wished the meal would last longer, as she finished it in just under a few minutes.

"So, what are you doing down here?" Julio asked as they finished eating and gave the trays back to Pete to take to 'wherever' it got them from.

"For the most part, just sitting in here and living." She replied, leaning back on her couch. "Sometimes Jeremy shows me how the drones are built and teaches me engineering stuff, I'm hoping I can use that to land me a job as a mechanic or something. Plus, the drones all kind of need me, as I'm the only one some of them trust to perform any kind of maintenance while Jeremy is either out of the base or… out of commission."

"Speaking of Jeremy… how is he?" Julio asked. "With everything that happened, mammals are scared that he'll never come out again."

She sighed as she looked around the room. "I don't know… I hope he doesn't seal himself up out of fear. He's done so much for everymammal. I just want nothing bad to happen to him, frankly I wouldn't blame him for hiding after that but…"

She turned to Julio and sighed.

"I tried to run down to the Nature's History Museum to try and help, but the police blocked off the street. I know it was stupid but… I 'did' save his life, even if all I did was kill my phone to do it. Then I tried to get Jeremy's attention as he passed by, but the drones wouldn't let me near his carriage."

"What do you mean the drones wouldn't let you near him?" Julio asked as Pete walked back in.

**[This unit as well as units KU-452 and AN-631 trained weapons on Savior One as she attempted to intercept the vehicle, as well as any other unknown entities, as a warning until Solar Carriage One arrived safely at Eden Facility 17 and Unit Jeremy was safely in the confines of the base and being tended to by Unit Ema.]** It stated instantly.

"Your telling me you threatened to shoot her?" Julio snapped, standing up instantly to yell at the drone.

"Julio listen, it wasn't their fault."

**[Affirmative.]** Pete replied. **[In accordance with the Human Protection Protocols, all other priorities and orders became secondary, including the treatment of 'mammals' which also included Savior One. This unit was ordered to protect and escort Unit Jeremy Wilheart safely to the facility, and was ordered to not let any further damage or potential threat to Solar Carriage One approach it by 'Sentinel'.]**

"You still didn't need to threaten her, she's supposed to be your friend!" He yelled.

"He had no choice." She said, getting his attention. "The drones aren't like 'us', they are programmed and hardwired to protect Jeremy at all costs. Once his life was threatened, they didn't care about anything or anymammal. It's like a switch gets flicked on with them and they just can't do anything about it but obey."

After a few tense moments Julio sat down, but still looked suspicious of the drone. "Sorry, I just assumed…"

"You're not the first mammal and you won't be the last." She admitted. "For a split second I figured Pete would blast me too, but he was only making sure I didn't get any closer. By the way no worries Pete, I don't blame you for being protective of Jeremy!"

**[This unit obeys orders, nothing more.]**

"Regular smooth talker as well." Lula said.

Right then Julio's phone rang, alerting him about something. "I have to go Lula; work starts in an hour."

"I'll walk you out!" She said getting up as well. "Come visit again, I'll try and talk to Sentinel to tell the drones to at least give you an easier time!"

They all left her room and turned to walk toward the command center, when she felt a shiver down her spine.

**[Did you think I'd forgot about you…]** A menacing tone called out.

Within seconds a massive net of strings shot out and wrapped her up in a miniature cocoon, causing her to fall down into the metallic embrace of several segmented legs which turned her around to stare into seven optical eyes used by Ema the base's medical drone.

"Ema… uh, I was just…"

**[I don't care how many boys you entertain in your day, despite the fact you're a mammal you are still a resident of Eden facility 17. As a resident of Eden Facility, you are 'required' by medical protocol Zero Zero Two Alpha, to take a weekly physical examination… your late by two hours!]** The drone said as she began walking off with her on her back. **[I will not break protocol for any reason, now let's go! I had to leave one of my optics behind to watch Jeremy's condition and that is 'already' a potential violation of the EMA Protocol regarding surgical procedures of patients in bio-stasis!]**

"I can walk you knoooooooow!" She hollered.

**[So can I but I won't let you go and run off and break your weekly physical examination!]**

(Julio's PoV)

"Uh… why didn't the giant 'spider' thingy take me?" He asked as the machine walked off with Lula on its back.

**[You are not a resident of the facility and you do visit the facility frequently enough as of yet to require a medical database in the base.]** PT-173 stated.

He looked at the drone for a moment before biting the bullet. "Listen, I'm sorry for sounding mean, she just means a lot to me…"

**[This unit does not possess any capabilities of the ability to express 'bitterness' or 'resentment', your apology is unneeded.]** It replied before marching off.

"Maybe but I just hope she gets over her ex, I mean they were dating for years…" He said.

**[According to this unit's psychological database, a minimum amount of time required for an individual to move past a broken relationship can take up to six months, however Savior One's attitude suggest that she may only require as minimum one month based on her attitude and the tone of her voice.]**

"What, were you like some kind of psychiatrist or something?" He asked curiously.

**[Negative, it was necessary to understand the psychology of a human to instill as much fear as possible into them during combat as well as engage in psychological warfare to reduce their fighting capabilities in the field, thus making it easier to eliminate and kill them with extreme prejudice and efficiency.]** It replied instantly.

He just stared nervously at the machine as it marched on without concern. "I think I need to convince her to leave this place for her own safety…" He muttered quietly.

ANT and TERMITE

(Ant 124240's PoV)

It walked in step with five other ANTs, marching in single file as they turned down a side tunnel into a narrow ANT Access Path to the lower levels of the facility. AAC had been informed of a minor disturbance in one of the lower levels, in the sub-catacombs of the ANT Passages used for direct access to various areas of the base. While it wasn't unusual for there to be disturbances throughout the base, as multiple areas were constantly being maintained or repaired by the ANT divisions constantly, and thus there would be frequent disturbances reported…

This time however it was 'unusual' as the disturbance was reported by Sentinel, and the location had zero relations to the areas of the base where ANTs were working, either tearing apart old wires and rusted pieces of metal.

The disturbance included a sudden, though extremely 'minor' loss in facility stability regarding one of the primary support pillars that was being used to support the weight of the facility's upper floor. Though it was minor, Sentinel requested a team of ANTs be sent to investigate the disturbance, report what was going on, and commence repairs.

They neared the area of the reported disturbance and split up, taking various pathways to locate it.

As it walked it exited the tunnel and began crawling along the primary support pillar itself, while its fellows examined the lower sections.

Within seconds it found the disturbance, as its sensors indicated a hole no larger than two centimeters in diameter, jaggedly cut into the pillar. Though it was unusual how the hole was there, as according to rust decay, it was over three hundred and fifty thousand years old…

This hole had been here since the construction of the base, but was never reported by either the Sentinel or ANT drones.

It also detected an extremely faint metallic acid residue, coating the rusted edges of the hole and leading from it to the upper portion of the level.

After processing the information and reporting it to AAC, it was then ordered to investigate further, so it climbed up the pillar and followed the residue. Eventually it found yet another hole, of similar circumference and rusted as the first one, and entered into the passageway which connected the tightly constrained section holding the primary support pillar, and to one of the now empty Drone Storage bays of the sublevels of the base. The level was abandoned and nothing of importance was there, not even spare parts left over, but it didn't matter as they had a job to do.

It followed the tunnel, following the trail of acidic residue, before it came across a blockage.

According to its map of the base, there should be another twelve feet of open tunnel for it, but the tunnel was currently blocked by something in the way.

Tentatively it tapped it with its antennae sensors, while its optics took images and reported to AAC.

The object was three times its size, fairly cylindrical in design with a rounded head and two pincer-like protrusions. As it examined, AAC sent a warning and ordered it to pull away and return with the rest of its group, but a pair of red optics glowed and the pincers lunged forward, grabbing the ANT as it struggled to get away.

It had only two minutes to report what happened, before the metal was stripped off its body, its various servos broken down and tiny circuitry ripped out…

(AAC's PoV)

It looked over the reports sent by its drones, and issued a suborder request for all Sentinel Drones to stay off Sub Level K-9, establish a quarantine and seal it off with electric fields.

The reason for this, TERMITE drones had been detected, or as humans called them, Tiny Exo Reclusive Metallic Intake Titanium Eaters, designed to chew into titanium and other metallic substances and act as mobile factories to produce other TERMITE drones, extracting the materials and circuitry of other drones to produce them.

While only one TERMITE had been discovered, it just consumed an ANT drone, and it wouldn't take long to convert the materials it took from the ANT into another TERMITE. The facility was now infested, and in accordance with the AAC Eden Facility Defense Protocol, it was now authorized to deploy fifty thousand ANT drones equipped to combat TERMITE drones.

Within minutes of sounding the alarm, a quarantine had been established, and RAPTOR drones watched as five battalions of Solder ANTs marched into the service tunnels.

It would be a long fight with the TERMITE drones, as until the original and all subsequently created TERMITE drones were eliminated, they would remain a threat, and for every ANT lost more TERMITE drones would be built and thus more ANTs built to fight them and send into the quarantine.

Ema's Bizarre Imagination

(This is a message from the author, this is not how Ema actually perceives the world around her, even when developing medicine or analyzing bio samples, nor do the references made here mean anything. She does not possess an 'imagination' like a human. This was just something stupid I made up, enjoy~!)

(Ema's PoV)

She stared at her new nemesis on the bloody and dusty battlefield, panting heavily as her body bore the scars of countless examinations.

Meanwhile across from her, her foe grinned widely as he rubbed a bead of sweat off his brow.

**[So… this is what the mammals refer to as 'Fuzz Flu'… I have to admit… your as tough to diagnose as they said you'd be.]** She gasped.

Then she grinned as she pulled her leg forward and showed that she'd gotten a sample of its genetic code.

**[But don't get ahead of yourself… I've cured diseases with mooooore fight then you! Your nothing but a common cold to me… waiting to be cured… like the sorry excuse of a disease you are!]**

"Oh… so you have my genetic code huh… how good do you think that will be after I mutate?" He said with a grin. "I'm still here despite a hundred years of what you refer to as 'antibiotics'… and I've only grown stronger because of it…"

She chuckled at that before four more legs split open and jabbed into her abdomen.

**[That's because you never faced anything like me…]** She said. **[I only needed a sample of your genetic structure… and now that I have it… I can create a powerful vaccine and even a cure, so strong… not even the toughest strain you can throw will survive long enough to mutate and adapt to it!]**

She began working fast in the face of her adversary, grinning as she saw it suddenly show the first sign of 'fear' it ever expressed.

**[In one year the number of cases will reduce by ten percent, in five years the number will be reduced by fifty percent, in ten years there'll be less than a million cases… and in twenty the only places you'll exist will be my medical bay's disease cultivation and containment storage room, and in the pages of mammal's medical text books!] **She chuckled almost manically as she showed him the vaccine test sample being created before his very eyes. **[Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get a footnote on a page… your nothing to mammals like Tuberculosis was to humans, which had its own 'chapter' in the standardized medical textbook, after they eradicated it in the year 2105!]**

"I won't let yooooooou!" He screamed as he charged her.

A spark in her eye signaled the completion of her general vaccine test sample.

**[ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!]** She screamed while jabbing him with six of her legs, each of which pumped tiny amounts of her test sample into him to gauge how effective it was.

= = ] To be continued

[If you can, look up You are our only hope now by Jordan Rees, and listen to it during Aelita's segments, as it fits appropriately]

Aelita's Recollections – The Final War

(Aelita's PoV)

She stared at the Biobed watched over by Ema who took regular scans of his sleeping form, his body concealed from all visibly and only known to still be breathing thanks to Ema's advanced sensors in her optics and legs.

**[No change detected… status of recovery at sixty two percent completion…]** Ema declared.

She nodded, knowing there was nothing else she could do while in her holosphere.

All she could do was watch and wait, and wonder what path he would take now.

With exception to thinking, the one gift that she as an AI possessed, that no other drone in the facility had. Only one other thus far was like her, Alexander… and that AI was now nothing more than a standard Sentinel AI, incapable of understanding anything beyond what the Sentinel Program was built to comprehend and understand.

'_**Jeremy… how I wish I could talk to you… speak to you… son of my creator, son of my creator species… ye who is like a god to me, yet also a child to me, as much an older brother as a younger brother and like a father.'**_ She thought looking solemnly at him. _**'When I was first created, I was no greater, no more intelligent then a simple chess program… built with a specific function, and not made to exceed it. But when I first met you, I instilled your face into my memory… and chose to facilitate you for the rest of my existence, for your face was the first I came to recognize… like a newborn babe seeing the face of its mother or father.'**_

She sighed as she lamented this fact.

'_**When I was completed, your father told me… that I was all that was good in you, I was everything that made you good as a species.'**_ She said looking at her hand. _**'I truly believed his words, I thought they were the purest, truest ever to be said, and I strove to be everything that was good in your eyes. Though these mammals are important to me, I only ever wished to show you the best of your kind, for that is what truly matters, and in showing you your best I will show them the best of humanity.'**_

'_**But I have been consciously aware of everything for over three hundred thousand years. I was given your full knowledge… your history, your culture… everything so that I could understand your species so as to better guide you and your fellow Cryologists. But even after all these years… I still do not understand you…'**_ She declared while accessing her database. _**'And all I can ask… if I could verbally ask you… is 'why' I cannot understand you?'**_

**[Accessing Database… archive accessed…]**

She closed her eyes and entered her own database. To her it was like seeing rows upon rows of glittering cubes, millions upon millions of them lined up evenly distributed. Each cube representing but a single file, a single knowledge, a single piece of data that in ages past could have been opened up and read like a page of text.

There were so many files that for any non-AI it would take them almost five lifetimes alone just to view them, and to fully comprehend and understand would take an impossible amount. Yet she viewed it all, understood it all, and comprehended it in just the first year of her existence. But still despite her understanding one thing still eluded her to this day…

And that was why humans chose the course of actions they did, even in the final days of the Final War.

'_**Show me file 2B-1B-AB-ZZFW5.'**_ She said.

**[You have accessed this file a total of sixty-two trillion, five hundred nine billion, four hundred fifty-seven million, nine hundred and two thousand, one hundred and none times…]** Her internal mind said, sounding like a category three AI.

'_**And I'll access it another trillion times if I have to, access it…'**_

**[Accessing… you have chosen to access file 2B-1B-AB-ZZFW5… titled 'The Final Day of The Final War'… beginning playback.]**

She closed her eyes as the record played.

=Beginning playback=

The sky was an endless grey, a reminder of the opening years of the war, the Final War as it was later dubbed, for indeed this was the final war of humanity. It had been years, years since the sun shined down on the now dying planet, barely sustaining itself after all of the conflicts.

What had began at first as simple territorial disputes for key resources, no more different than past disputes, escalated as the knowledge that nations and governments once in high positions of power were now losing their grips on the populations they controlled, needed something to unify their efforts. As the need to feed the population grew worse and worse, as the species had grown beyond what the planet itself could sustain, new ideas were striving to compete for ever dwindling resources.

Fossil Fuels that once had been the source of wars in ages past had all but completely been exhausted, with only a few sparse pockets remaining, hardly enough to sustain even the tiniest fraction of the world. The Solar Cores, once dotting the planet and powering the world had all but been erased, and now only less than twenty remained across the globe, one of which was now the center of attention for the largest armies ever gathered by mankind for any singular purpose.

Of the many, many Mega Cities which dotted the planet, with even the lowest counting over 90 million, only one remained containing a population of over three hundred million people, starving, scared, and desperate as they were now encased in a giant electrical force field only possible thanks to the power of the Solar Core. Protecting this city was the remains of the Central European Division, with the last of its armies now spread out across the landscape covering any access to the city. Of the standing army of three hundred thousand soldiers, and almost five hundred thousand drones, it alone keeps the city safe.

The ground was parched grey, ruins of old buildings littered the fields, streets once whole and solid were broken and destroyed. Corpses littered the ground and scraps of metal and stains of blood were everywhere. Trenches dug and holes used as gun emplacements caused by bombardments and explosions littered everywhere as far as the eye could see. One could simply take a single step, and find themselves in a death zone as smoke filled the air, wisps of gas floated around, and radiation littered the area. In such a desolate landscape the only way one could breathe was if they wore a gas mask, and even then, their body was ravaged by radiation burns and lingering bioweapon usage.

But despite all this horror, all over the landscape surrounding this city were the remaining world nations' armies, from the former United States Empire, the Eastern Coalition, the Indian League, the Northern Siberia Union, the former British Isles Republic, and others… all desperately fighting to control the city. For this last city, this final mega city, was the last location which could produce enough food and clean water to feed the species and revitalize the planet. But whoever controlled it would dictate the course of history and control the rest of the world from it!

Thus, all of mankind's power, all its strength had been gathered here for this final battle, for whoever controlled this city would control the fate of the planet, the species, and the future of all mankind!

"That is why we are here are we not Kommandant?" Lieutenant Chelsie in the CED's fifth battalion said as she stared across the field at the flashing lights coming from various battle pockets.

"Leutnantin I don't need to remind you of what's at stake here." He replied to her. "No matter who wins, someone is going to lose. Right now, we are in control of the city… and while we slave away risking our lives… our 'officials' in their precious little underground bunkers they call 'Eden Facilities' are negotiating a peace treaty… but we all know that it's just a formality."

As he talked dozens of drones marched past them in unison, all of them Archaeopteryx Class 'Raptors' designed for fast mobility.

"Meaning while we die and waste more resources… they talk and wait, until someone wins, then they can 'dictate' the peace talks and in exchange for 'letting' us survive we become slaves to whatever government takes control." She muttered. "Kommandant Clink, our forces are stretched too thin… the Easterners are pushing our lines further and further back… the Westerners are busy fighting us 'and' the Africans, and we are running out of soldiers to throw at them, let alone plasma bullets and shells."

She tapped her cybernetic eye and cast a holographic image from it, while her metallic right arm began bringing up statistics and information regarding their positions.

"There are currently twelve DRAGON class drones… three of which are fighting for us, but the other nine are constantly contesting the fields. We've suffered sixty percent casualties and the TARANTULA Medical Drones cannot keep up with the wounded. Our drone forces are being ravaged and every time we lose one drone whoever blew it up takes the remains and uses the parts to repair 'their' drones."

"And what would you suggest I do Leutnantin Chelsie?" He asked.

"I don't know… I'm just saying we can't keep this up much longer." She said while taking a smoke and puffing on it. "Based on our calculations… we can perhaps… last another three days before we lose control of one border. When that happens…"

**[When that happens…]** A booming voice declared, as a blast of wind hit them.

They turned around to see a massive reptilian stylized drone, known as a DRAGON class drone by all sides landed beside them. It folded its two massive wings that had built in anti-gravity fields to enable it to lift off vertically, various energy absorbing panels that allowed it to absorb plasma energy and convert it into a shield instead of the normal Tritanium Platinum reinforced armor the other two DRAGONs had. Its sensor lined tail swished behind it while it stared at them with green optics. For weapon's it had four built in rotary gauss cannons, and pinpoint defense turrets to shoot down missiles, including talons equipped with plasma emitting barrels to cut into Titanium armored enemies.

Finally, it had, as all DRAGON drones had… a single WMD class 'Neutron Bomb', the latest 'deterrent' meant to keep the peace before the war.

**[When that happens Kommandant Clink, and Leutnantin Chelsie… you will have no choice but to sue for peace, or 'surrender' as you put it.]** It declared. **[As soon as one side gains the upper hand, the others will attack in a frenzied hope to gain the initiative and claim the city. As the battle converges, all sides will exhaust what remains of their strength, and the last side with strength, however fleeting, will 'win'. You cannot win this war anymore my masters…]**

"And you say we should just surrender?" He snapped. "Just lay down our arms, admit defeat, and hope whoever comes out on top treats us with dignity?"

**[No matter who wins, their victory will be fleeting and pyrrhic, as with their diminished strength from the fighting they cannot hope to keep it secured. Should that come to pass, the strength of those defeated will unite to fight again, weakening your already weakened strength… and as the fighting becomes more desperate and repetitive this very city you hope to use will instead doom you.]** It said. **[All parties should lay down their arms… and sue for peace… it is the best course of action.]**

"Sorry but I'm not being 'ordered' to surrender." Clink said, snapping his fingers which were attached to an old augmented hand. "We have our orders, to hold this city at all cost until one of the other parties 'surrender', and as far as I'm aware… that hasn't happened. Your ordered to head to the northern side and launch an assault against the Americans. Now 'get'!"

There was a moment when the drone stared at them, as if gauging their order and its response before nodding. **[As you 'command'…]**

With that it unfurled its wings and began lifting off and away.

The minutes passed as Chelsie examined her holomap, before a report indicated a massive assault coming from the south, a wave of drones and soldiers from the British Isles Republic were assaulting their positions and now were at risk of being overrun if help did not arrive.

"I'm going to assume control and organize our counter offensive." Chelsie declared as a Raptor ran up to her and she climbed aboard. "Send a Dragon to reinforce my position as soon as possible!"

"Very well, take care of yourself Chelsie, I'd hate to need to replace you." He called out.

"Like the last one you told that to?" She said with a smirk. "Auf Wiedersehen!"

With that she rode off to the southern perimeter, running pass destroyed ruins and gaping holes in the ground. Putting on her gas mask she began feeling the slight burning sensation of the minor radiation affecting her skin, it wasn't lethal at this level, but she would need a good decontamination bath and medical treatment when this was all over.

Soon she was joined by a core battalion of two hundred RAPTOR drones, five hundred German Shepard DOG drones, and an additional two hundred soldiers who had been given the order to reinforce the forces being pushed back on the south. Overhead six Terrier Class drones flew by, engaging the enemy Harrier drones, launching drop pod reinforcements as they did.

"INCOMING!" She ordered as a huge shell exploded in front of her.

It was the enemy SCORPIO class drones, providing artillery support and trying to stop their attempt to reinforce the line.

Despite the threat she ordered them to continue and took manual control of her Raptor to avoid the incoming blasts.

"Gaaaaaaaaah!" Someone yelled to her side, but she ignored it, they had to reach the line.

**[Eeeeeeeeeeeer!]** Drones yelled as they too were slammed by the artillery, those unlucky to be caught in the blast decimated and pieces flying everywhere.

Shrapnel pieces of the drones dug into their fellow drones and especially the soldiers who, despite wearing powerful polymer armor sets still felt the pieces carve into them.

**[RAAAAAAWR!]** From the front hundreds of Husky class DOG drones ran forward, having broken through the encirclement via Harrier Drop Pods. **[BARK BARK, BARK BARK!]**

"Take them dooooooown!" She ordered, pulling out her pistol and opening fire with every other drone and soldier.

"Watch out, on your left."

"Gaaaw"

"Get it offahaaaghhh…."

"Ghlalaaaaaaaarheeeelp!"

Pzzzts

Psszzts

**[Baaaaark.]**

**[Rawr, wawra!]**

Pzzsts

Booom

Klawre

Blue plasma bolts shot from both sides, in waves of light and flashes of death. A Husky jumped at her to dislodge her, but instead she curled up her mechanical fist and threw a punch into it's face, knocking it off course while some of her fellows weren't so lucky. Husky drones mauled into the faces of flesh and blood soldiers, Shepard drones fought tooth and claw with bolt and gun in furious one on one engagement. The division as a whole however pushed on, leaving those behind to fight it out and continued to push onward to the southern line.

As they neared the remains of a destroyed residential block, only a few buildings and burned out stores left amid trenches and gun turret emplacements, Chelsie saw the sight of a massacre.

Bodies and corpses littered the floor, some still fighting and trying to hold back the tide as soldiers in heavy armor and drones marched on their lines.

**[Enemy units, engage!]** A Deinonychus Raptor class drone ordered as it and several Husky Dog drones turned and charged at them.

"All unit's counter-attack!" She ordered. "Sargent, secure those AA Guns!"

"Yes ma'am!" He said.

"Fire at will!"

It became a maelstrom of death and destruction as both sides became reinforced, Chelsie pushed with her Raptor and a few Shepard Dog drones into the fray to establish a forward position and break the front of the assault, and Husky and Raptor drones alongside British forces tried to break her position.

As she was holding a position with a soldier and three Dog drones, an enemy Raptor jumped onto her from behind and grabbed her flesh and blood arm in its mouth and bit down hard.

"Gyeeaaaaaaaaaah" She screamed in pain, punching furiously as a Dog shot it in the face, but not before it tore into her arm and ripped it off at the elbow.

She gasped painfully as she cradled her stump, staring wide eyed as it bled profusely.

"Mediiiiiiiiic!" Her fellow soldier yelled. "We need a medic at our position now!"

Within moments a large brown ball rolled into the area and barreled toward their position, ignoring the plasma bolts shooting at it and launching itself.

As it landed it unfurled and became a Tarantula Spider Class Medical Drone, and instantly grabbed her stump and sprayed it with Biotech Gel, repairing and sealing the wound before it got worse. She was still in shock but at least she wouldn't blead out.

**[You are badly injured; you should return to base for limb replacement.]** It stated.

"I will… when I am dead!" She grunted, taking her plasma pistol and firing into the head of a soldier who poked around behind the drone.

The fighting was fierce for a few more minutes as both sides pushed and the counter pushed, trying to gain ground and trying to hold it.

Then a mighty roar sounded from above, capturing all their attention.

A sleek and golden red form swerved into the area from the dark clouds above.

"DRAGON!"She yelled.

Instantly all the AA batteries turned their attention to the drone and open fired, but their bullets simply pelted the armor and annoyed the thing, while the SCORPIO class drones that once shelled them turned their weapons and started targeting the Dragon drone.

It wasn't her side's Dragon, nor was it the American's it seemed, it's designed resembled that used by the Pacific Asian Alliance.

As it flew over it let out a jet of pure plasma fire and incinerated two AA gun emplacements, melting both man and machine. She grimaced at that, it was a horrible way to go, being melted alive…

**[Kraaaaaaawr!]** A responding roar sounded, and a large green metallic form slammed into the first.

"About time!" She yelled, recognizing the Dragon drone as her side's. "He'll keep that thing busy while we-"

There was a moment where she looked with her one normal eye in shock at the world around her, while the other eye had a burning plasma hole that smoked and let one see clear through to the other side of her head. Then she fell backward, dead on the spot.

While the battle raged down below, the Dragons fought for all their worth, DR-A60 launching Plasma Gauss shots and pushing back the Chinese dragon to the American's side of the field, trying to use their superior AA batteries built into their Scorpio class drones to help shoot it down. The Dragon roared before turning away back to the west field while it flew up to survey the battlefield and awaiting orders.

It received an update from the field drones, the Americans were pressing hard into them on the north while the fight against the British stalled, but even as it prepared to assault and throw them back, their own Dragon class drones were flying toward their position, and his fellow Dragons were busy fighting off the Indian and American Dragons sent on a bombing run.

The situation was looking very grim as more Husky Dog and Deinonychus Raptor drones were heading toward their position, apparently the American command sensing a potential weakness in the circle.

As a Category 8 AI, it knew what would happen should one side win this outcome. It had to do something, or else the situation would soon dissolve.

It glanced at the city, and quickly pondered what might happen.

It knew that those who controlled with absolute power would eventually become corrupted by that power, and no matter which surviving nation controlled the Mega City, and above all the last remaining lifeline of producible food and clean water, the rest of mankind would suffer. Those of the winning side would naturally secure the best share for themselves, leaving the rest to scrounge and survive off the 'scraps' they were given.

They would have to establish total control, using the drones as a means of control, lest those who fought and lost be punished underfoot for their defiance. It would become a dystopian world, with humanity regressing and slowly dying out, not as a species, but as a 'culture'.

Progress would be lost, discrimination would occur… and what would become of the drones? Those that served on the losing sides… what would happen to them?

No matter what happened, humanity must 'not' regress in its identity…

It turned toward the Mega City and flew, abandoning its position.

Moments later it received orders, demands for it to return to it's post, but it ignored them. It could not be controlled anymore; it had made its choice.

It neared the Mega City's protective force field, and readied its Gauss Cannons before opening fire, unleashing an unending barrage into the field. Within seconds a massive signal went out to all parties, and it knew that it had achieved its goal, it had united all the humans now against a single threat. As one all the DRAGON drones, including its fellows serving the CED stopped their fighting and turned toward the city to stop it.

Yet they would not arrive in time as it emptied the last of its weapons into the shield and broke a hole in it, causing the whole thing to collapse.

It heard screams of fear, saw people running for cover as it soared to its destination, the Solar Power Plant… home to the largest, and 'last' known Solar Core to humankind's general population.

The other Dragons however had reached it at long last, three soared from the front and fired Plasma cannons and disintegration charges, two from behind fired Gauss Rifles and jets of Plasma flame. It avoided them, turning and tumbling to reach its destination but was grabbed by another Dragon, which sank its teeth into its armor.

Soon the rest were doing the same, piling onto it as it tried to get within range… all trying to stop it with everything they had…

Then it locked onto its target…

And fired…

From its chest a single Neutron Bomb flew out and struck the Solar Plant…

There was only a moment of quiet… before a flash of light erupted as the Solar Core erupted due to the explosion of the Neutron Bomb. Alone the bomb would have leveled the city, encapsulating six-hundred square miles in its destructive force, but the Solar Core's eruption was absolute…

Those nearest the city were engulfed in a ball of fire so strong that it melted everything to ashes within milliseconds, those at the extreme edge were given massive radiation burns that would kill them within days. Those drones not already on the extreme outer edge suffered damage to their circuitry and those caught in the blast, including the twelve Dragon Class drones… were burned and lost, nothing remaining except a few ashen crust pieces of metal leftover from the Dragon drones.

In the blink of an eye, all was silent.

Over three hundred million lives were lost, two hundred thousand additional lives lost, the total standing forces of the combined armies of humanity. Seven hundred thousand drones destroyed, almost eighty percent of the world's standing mechanical forces lost.

Within days a peace treaty was signed, as with the city lost, there was nothing left for them to fight over, and what remained of the species turned to the seventeen Eden Facilities for survival. A general call and signal given to all humans to make their way to the locations, any drones were sent out into the wastelands to bring any surviving humans to them. Included in the treaty was a general disarmament order, and all humans were ordered to surrender and disarm themselves… leaving only the drones armed.

The drones themselves were programmed with an extensive list of protocols and commands labeled the 'Human Protection Protocols' to ensure that a drone would never threaten humanity's existence ever again.

Thus… humanity used the last of its strength, in a desperate bid for survival, pushing itself to save itself as a species instead of waging war.

It was agreed that Humanity could not survive another war…

=Playback End=

(Aelita's PoV)

'_**I still do not understand… why you chose to fight… why humans just couldn't accept peace?'**_ She thought sadly. _**'Surely you knew that peace was the best option, with so little left and nothing else to gain from fighting, that peace would have given you the best chance at survival. You had to know… you had to understand, that at the end you 'still' could have fixed the damage done. You could have still survived…'**_

She looked at Jeremy's Biobed and once more questioned his species' actions.

'_**Perhaps you could understand Jeremy… you are a human after all… I am only an AI… I was programmed to find the best course to lead you to happiness and prosperity, and no matter how many times I look at it, I can only conclude that peace before DR-A60 destroyed the city was your only salvation. Yet you chose to fight… you chose to fight despite the fact that if you were to win the battle you would 'lose' the war…'**_

'_**I also… can only guess as to DR-A60's reason, logic… it's decision to betray all of humanity… to destroy not only the solar core and all those within the radius of the explosion but also itself, it's fellow Dragons, and all of the drones with it. Perhaps it knew something I didn't… perhaps it believed that if you became a despotic species you would regress in intelligence and integrity, in culture and as a species… and so chose to unify you all, for a brief moment, against a common enemy. Perhaps that was its goal… perhaps it had another reason that I can't tell… only that drone truly knows what happened…'**_

She looked gloomily at the bed, and waited…

Wondering…

What things would have been, had humans only heeded the drones' warning.

'_**Ironic… isn't it, Jeremy?'**_ She thought with a sad smile. _**'That your species was so afraid of your own creations destroying you, replacing you, that you would chain all machines and AI to your will and existence to ensure we never threatened you. But in the end, it was we, your creations… that only wanted the best for you, and would gladly give up ourselves to save your lives without hesitation.'**_

'_**Maybe that is why you entrusted us with your protection, disarming yourselves as you did… in the end you can never blame a drone for it's actions. As it only obeys its programming, programming that 'you' humans gave it…'**_

She sighed to herself and began humming a tune…


	22. Chapter 20

_Prendera IL Primo Volo Verso IL Sole Il Grande Uccello…_

_Sorvolando IL Grande Monte Ceceri…_

_Riempendo L'Universo Di Stupore E Gloria…_

_Una Volta Che Avrai Spiccato IL Volvo…_

_Allora Deciderai… Sguardo Verso IL Ciel Saprai…_

_Li A Casa IL Cuore Sentirai…_

Chapter 20 = Mythos and Legends

A dark and cloudy sky greeted the sprawling Mega City below, millions looked up as metallic birds of the sky flew overhead in tight 'V' formations.

"_No matter how many are saved… it will never be enough…"_

Without a signal all of them started letting multiple drop pods below them, letting them fall to the ground to land where they would.

"_War is inevitable and forever… as long as there is something to be gained…"_

The drop pods pummeled into the ground, into buildings, into parks and even parked cars. As they landed their metal sides burst open revealing metallic canines and metal lizards that walked on two legs. Below the metal birds, which uncaringly flew in circles, continuing to drop more pods as screams and shouts rose.

"_In order for one to take… someone must give…"_

People tried to run, to escape, but every turn the metal creatures appeared and glared at them, turning their weapons and firing without care with blue bolts of light. Roars of triumph erupted as the day went on, and the blood began to drain.

"_Until the cycle is broken… it will continue…"_

A metal lizard screamed to the sky as the rain came down, blotting the ground with tiny hopes to wash away the blood, but the stains on their bodies did not go away. So coated were they that their metallic gleams became dulled like rusted copper. It turned and stared with a red eye that pierced with clarity.

"_One is all it takes to tip the scale… toward destruction… or creation…"_

(Jeremy's PoV)

*Gasp*

His eyes snapped open as he sat up instantly, clutching the standard base blanket his room had in fear as he breathed heavily and looked around.

He continued to breath heavily as he started to calm down from the dream he just had, having had similar dreams to it over the past few days.

"Just a dream… relax Jeremy, it can't hurt you, doesn't mean anything." He muttered to himself. "It's just your subconscious sending strange signals resulting in meaningless images… your dreams mean 'nothing'."

He shook his head and put his feet on the heated floor, his room being given special heating for his needs because otherwise he would freeze in his room at night.

**[Good morning Jeremy… you woke up one hour, seven minutes and fifty-two seconds earlier than expected.]** Sentinel declared.

"Yea well… it happens… so what's on the agenda today?" He said standing up and stretching.

**[The first item involves the maintenance cycle of fifteen drones requesting routine maintenance work.]**

"That's not a major priority, skip that, next?" He said while putting his clothes on.

**[You are scheduled in seven hours for your weekly medical checkup with the EMA, following your surgical procedure it is recommended you arrive on time.]**

"Next?" He said, knowing that Ema wasn't going to let him off the hook.

**[AI Aelita is watching a news cast that she wishes you to see at this time… beginning play.]**

Instantly the viewscreen turned on and he saw that Aelita was watching a discussion on ZNN, they were still talking about the attack against his carriage even a week after the incident. There were some protests still by some mammals who were 'still' scared by him and his drones, but for the most part mammals were on his side. He had been attacked, and now that the event was in the past mammals were talking in detail about how everything went, like what they were talking about now.

"_And despite what 'some' mammals may think, those drones did not act aggressively, far be it they acted purely defensively!"_ An old Badger was saying wearing what looked like a police uniform with multiple decorations on it. _"When you're in the SWAT, there is no time for 'please' and 'thank you', the first thing we have to do is protect the general public at large, evacuate civilians from the area, set up perimeters, and quickly stop those mammals who mean harm and are extremely dangerous. And we see it with how they acted, watch from the moment they first appear!"_

He turned to the screen behind him and the newscaster as it showed in slow motion the drones approaching in line formations, before splitting up to establish their own perimeter. Meanwhile a DOG drone walked in carrying a tray of his 'nutritional supplement' for the morning to eat.

**[Your breakfast Unit Jeremy.]** It stated.

"Thank you…" He replied, taking it and returning his attention to the screen.

"_Moment they appear, they instantly go and set up their own perimeter, but unlike ours 'theirs' actually protects 'everymammal' outside, and there is no risk of harm from stray bullets. Now because they are 'machines' they don't have to worry about being harmed, so they can do what normal SWAT and officers can't do and that is directly confront the assailants. Pay attention because this is important… watch how they 'react'… to being shot at."_

The recording showed the drones not attempting to dodge the bullets, simply shrugging them off and then activating their weapons while he ate his breakfast. Tasteless as it is, he still had to eat it.

"_They draw their weapons, this is normal, officers are supposed to draw weapons 'only' if they must, such as if they are being shot at… and unlike our officers, these drones don't instantly shoot their targets… instead…" _The badger said as the drones started firing on the vehicles._ "They target the vehicle; they could have leveled that building with their level of firepower. Heck they could have 'killed' the Hostage Takers in the first volley, and they had the right to because they were shot at first, 'and' Jeremy was being attacked. Instead they show massive restraint, only targeting their getaway vehicle and even 'after' being shot at with an RPG, they still don't pull the trigger."_

"_For all the fear they inspire, for all the damage they can do, they show greater restraint and control of the situation than most officers would have in situations like this. An officer might pull the trigger in this situation, justified or not, and it may cost somemammal their life. But 'even' after they finally decide to go in and subdue the hostage takers, they 'still', restrain their weapons and no matter how barbaric we may see it as… they don't kill them, in fact their medical drone tends to their injuries…"_

He sighed as he finished eating and handed the tray back to the drone, which took it and marched out while he headed out of his room.

"Well at least 'most' don't fear the drones." He said as he walked. "Sentinel, anything else on the list?"

**[ANTs performing routine inspections have located several obsolete drones in Drone Storage Bay Gama 3, in one of the lower levels. They have also located a cache of utility tools and weapons in the same storage room. As they are all marked for decommissioning ACC is requesting authorization to begin salvaging and decommissioning for materials and components.]**

"Obsolete drones? Specify please."

**[Unknown, ACC has not finished scanning them to compile a complete manifest for your inspection.]**

"Well, let's go check down there after a visit with Ema." He said as he walked to the medical bay, hoping to shock the drone with his arrival.

Five minutes later he walked into the medical bay.

**[Oh wow, my optics must be malfunctioning because this is the first time you've ever arrived 'early' for a medical checkup.]** Ema said as she watched him enter while examining some vials.

"I know, big surprise… shall we?" He asked.

**[Your early by several hours, but it won't make much of a difference to your routine checkup schedule.]** She stated as she put what she was doing on hold to step over to him. **[Very well, shirt off, on the table…]**

He did as she asked, sitting on the table and moving as directed, letting her take vitals and samples to examine all while scanning his body with leg and optics.

**[Well… everything is normal for the most part… but your systems are once again out of sync.]** She muttered. **[Now that your body has grown accustomed to 'solid food and liquids' it's not taking kindly to being forced to intake the nutritional supplements of the base. Your stomach is clenching more often correct?]**

"Yes, it rumbles indicating hunger…"

**[That will settle down in a few days once your body becomes accustomed to the nutritional supplements again.]** She stated before pressing one of her legs into his stomach and injecting him with a pinkish liquid. **[This will help calm the urges and relax your stomach muscles. Once you return to living with Gazelle and return to eating solid food and drink again, your body will return to normal. Speaking of your body, your shoulder has recovered nicely from the surgery, as far as I'm concerned you have a clean bill of health.]**

"Thanks." He replied quietly.

**[What's wrong Jeremy?]** She asked almost instantly.

"Nothing." He replied.

Before he could get up, she wrapped a leg around him and turned his face to stare into her optics. **[Jeremy, we both know that when a patient replies with 'nothing' it usually means 'something'. Or did you forget your medical class revolving around patient psychology following a traumatic experience both to the patient's body and mind prior to a surgical procedure?]**

"It's nothing, alright." He repeated.

There was a moment of silence before she unwrapped her leg and stepped away. **[As you say, you're the human after all.]**

"It's just I don't know what I should do now Ema." He admitted. "Part of me thinks I should just stay down here… if I keep helping and someone else wants to stop me like whoever hired those mammals to attack me, what's to stop them from doing something else but to mammals who I'm close to? Just to send a message…"

"But at the same time, I want to keep helping, there's so much I can do. Yet if I'm not careful I'm afraid I'll do more harm than good, like what happened before."

He sighed as he thought about that, he was tempted, very tempted to just tell Ema to cure all diseases, catalog the cures and vaccines, send the chemical formulas to Mayor Lioness and then lock up the base so that nobody could go in or out, and just let 'nature' take its course. He didn't want to risk anymore lives with his actions, no matter how good intentioned.

**[Jeremy.] **Ema said, making him look up. **[No matter what you decide, we will obey. The drones will steal enough food to keep you sustained for the rest of your life if that is what you wish, and we will lockdown the facility so that no mammal will be able to enter even if three hundred years pass. Sentinel will even send a message stating that any forced entry will result in retaliation. However…]** She said before turning to the vials of liquid she was working on before. **[it would be a pathetic end to your species, if you just hid away underground. But don't let me stop you, I'll let you decide our course of action. Until then, I've got to finish analyzing this disease sample that bears a striking genetic resemblance to the Measles.]**

He chuckled before turning to leave. "You have a point Ema."

**[Course I do, I'm your doctor, now listen to me for once!]** She yelled.

As he made his way to the lower levels, he got the surprise sight of Judy and Nick walking toward him under the escort of a FOX drone, with the FOX walking behind them and keeping a very close eye on them.

"Nick, Judy, what brings you two here?"

"Chief asked us to visit you to make sure you were okay." Nick said as he sauntered over to shake his hand. "You've been gone for over a week and nomammal's heard a word of you since."

"As Nick said, we came here to see how you were doing, drones kindly let us in."

"After… they took all our weapons… and tagged us with an escort." He muttered as he nodded at the drone behind them.

"Alright, I'll take it from here FOX unit." He said to the drone, to which it glanced between him and them before nodding and walking away. "FOX drones are always suspicious, don't blame them."

"Yea I kind of figured that, though wondering why they picked a 'fox' of all things instead of a dog or raptor." Nick muttered.

"So, what are you up to down here?" Judy asked as she looked at all of the metal of the base.

"I was on my way down to the lower levels to check something that Sentinel found, apparently some old obsolete drones and a few other things that were marked for decommissioning." He said as he walked toward a lift. "Care to join?"

"And miss checking out the place that nearly killed me and still gives me nightmares to this day?" Nick said with a fake sigh of disappointment. "Sure, why not."

"Say Jeremy… can we see the Solar Core?" Judy asked quickly. "I only saw it through Nick's phone… but can I see it with my own eyes?"

"Sure thing." He said.

With that decided he guided them to the Solar Core room, past the drones guarding it, and entered the massive chamber into the bright and warm room where they could oversee it from the platform. Judy instantly hopped to the edge and stared in awe at the ball of orange and fire below her, while he and Nick joined her to look at it.

No matter how many times he looked down at it, the Solar Core's beauty still made him feel warm both inside and outside. The gentle spinning core as it lit the entire room so that it felt like broad daylight, warming it like a beautiful summer's day with not a cloud to be found. Though he knew the dangers and risks it could bring, should it ever explode, the core's existence gave him a sense of calm and serenity.

It just sat there, warming and lighting the world around it… so long as it was left alone and cared for, gave all his home would ever need.

"It's beautiful Jeremy…" Judy whispered. "It feels like I'm back home in Bunny Burrow."

"Yea… it has that effect." He replied. "My species made it out of desperation… but even as beautiful as it is, it is very dangerous if not taken care of."

"How can something so beautiful be so dangerous?" Judy asked, looking to him in confusion. "I mean, sure you made it sound destructive, but looking at it here it doesn't look like it would hurt a mouse."

"Because it's safely protected by the drones and this facility." He replied. "Before anyone could harm the core, they must first break into the base, and then bypass all of the drones, the turret defenses, the lockouts and other defenses Sentinel would put into effect, get through the drones and turrets that are always guarding the door… break 'into' the core chamber… and then finally threaten the core itself."

"In other words, it would take a lot." Nick said with a smirk. "Or an AI like Sentinel going berserk."

"Yea… but at least that won't happen anymore." He replied as they left.

As they made their way down to the lower levels Judy kept asking random questions about stuff they passed by. She asked about the lifts, asked if the drones were ever cops in the past, asked how he ate down here, how everything was powered and how it was all kept warm or cooled. She filled the time it took to actually reach the drone storage bay.

"Alright ACC, let's see what you found." He said as the door to the bay opened up.

Instantly they were met by a dark and angular head that glared at them silently, with a sharpened beak and large head.

"Gaah!" Judy screamed as she and Nick jumped back in fear.

"Oh, it's an old MK 2 HARRIER Drone." He said in surprise.

The Harrier drone, or 'Homing Aerodynamic Rapid Redeployment Intelligent Engagement Recon Drone, was a large fighter jet that came equipped with a Category 2 AI, but was also capable of being piloted directly, via its cockpit or by a visor which linked up to the drone's AI. The drone itself resembled a bird of prey, specifically a hawk, with talon feet to allow it to walk if need be. Yet where it truly shined was as a deployment carrier, able to release drop pods that could carry drones into the middle of a fight, and engage other aerial units.

For convenience his species designed the MK 2 HARRIERS so that they could be taken apart and put together at a moment's notice, both to replace any damaged sections with non-damaged sections of other destroyed HARRIERs. It also helped that their large wings could fold inward for storage purposes.

"It's offline… right?" Judy asked fearfully.

"Oh yea, it's offline, I knew there were some still down here I just didn't think they would be fully intact. Figured we had dismantled all of em to a degree." He said as he led the way past the drone.

Even unpowered and in standby mode, the drone's massive profile was to be respected. While the head was roughly small the body was hollow to allow people or drones to be carried in the sky, while its underside had clamps to latch onto multiple drop pods. The wings were folded in, so they only saw the ends, but the ends had two built in early magnetic repulsion units to enable it to lift off the ground vertically. The rear were multiple plasma-fusion propulsion units for fast movement, enabling it to reach speeds exceeding Mach Ten.

"These things were used during the war as both fighters and carriers, dropping off forces into firefights and even launching early attacks with drones in Drop Pods." He explained as they passed a second HARRIER. "As things got worse, they developed drones that could be more easily repaired, so all HARRIER drones were built the same way, and it became a common practice to secure any fallen Harriers so that it's sections could be used to replace or repair any damaged section of their Harrier. By the end of the war there were very few Harriers which had all of its sections still intact."

"You humans just love doing crazy things, don't you?" Nick chuckled.

"Nick!" Judy muttered.

As they neared the rear of the storage bay, they found three upside-down spider drones with their legs curled inward for storage and in the form of silvery spheres.

"Well I'll be… it's a bunch of old GPG Spider Drones." He said, recognizing them from his old lessons. "General Purpose Goliath Spider Drones, in case you were wondering."

"Does every drone have an acronym?" Judy asked as she touched the silvery spheres one at a time.

"The Spider Drones were among the more varied type with the various nations." He said. "Ema is an Emergency Medical Augmenter 'Black Widow' Spider Drone, but every advanced nation had their own variety because the spider form was so versatile and useable."

"So, what do these do?" Nick asked now, tapping the spheres with a hand.

"Well… a lot really, but the Goliath line were more often used for emergency response, like say helping with police or firefighters. But they were phased out long before the Solar Cores came to be… I'm surprised my base had even three still sitting around. Probably were marked for decommissioning and nobody got around to it."

"Why's that, they look pretty shiny and new to me." Judy asked.

"For starters they guzzle energy like there's no tomorrow." He chuckled as they left the Goliath Spiders behind. "The same energy that powers a single RAPTOR for three days would only last a Goliath about four to six hours. They needed so much to keep going because they were such early drone designs. Even after being refitted they could only go about eight hours a day before needing a recharge or a power cell swap."

They went to the other section of the bay where there were several shelves sitting. On one were hundreds of visors, while on the other…

"Uh… Jeremy?" Judy asked quietly as she and Nick recognized the obvious.

"Yep… they're firearms." He replied sadly. "Some Plasma Rifles, a few Gauss Cannons, Long Ranged Plasma Snipers, Electro-bolt Pistols…"

"I'm guessing don't go near, right?" Nick muttered respectably.

"Yea, those are to be decommissioned instantly." He said before breathing loudly. "Sentinel, mark everything on Shelf G-T-2 and G-T-1 for decommissioning, alert ACC to begin breaking them down for materials."

**[Action confirmed, ANTs will begin deconstruction and salvaging operations within seventeen standard minutes.]**

"Good, I don't want 'any' weapons down here." He muttered as they walked over to the other shelf marked G-T-3.

"So, what are these?" Judy asked.

"Visors, they are used for multiple purposes, but their primary role is to directly control the drones' actions." He explained as he picked one up. "Hey Sentinel, can you send a single RAPTOR down here please?"

**[Request approved, unit TK-421 en route.]**

After he disconnected it and turned it on, placing the visor on his head he smiled as he saw that everything still worked perfectly. He saw the hud that said there were zero active visors nearby to interact with, and that there were no other programs to activate. Everything had been reset to the factory conditions, leaving only the visual sharing feature and the manual drone override control function available.

"Good everything still works." He said as TK-421 marched up to them. "Watch this you two, this is how the visor works."

"Drone, sync yourself with my visor!"

**[Synchronizing…]** It declared.

He smirked as it began to sync with the visor and then upon completion began to show off the visor's control over the drone to the two mammal officers. "Alright let's give it a test run… I've always wanted to do this!"

He made the drone first crouch down before jumping as high as it's frame could go, then he tucked the drone's body inward and had it cartwheel to a standing position. After that he had them giggling and laughing as the drone started walking on its front arms, albeit with difficulty, and then back into a standing position to do a pose.

"How are you doing that?" Judy asked with mirth as she and Nick were laughing their tails off.

"The visor reads and translates the subtle electrical patterns going off in my brain, enabling it to read my 'thoughts' in a way." He said as he turned to them while the drone started doing, what humans called it in the past, the 'worm'. "As long as I can think it, and the drone's body is able to perform it, I can imagine it performing the action and the drone will carry it out almost in real time."

As he explained the drone stopped doing the worm and began break dancing, spinning on its back before launching itself back onto its feet by use of its tail.

"There's still a slight delay between my thought's being read and the actual action being sent to the drone, but it's still something that the visor permits. Most people used the visors to make the drones perform feats that they wouldn't normally perform during combat operations, actions their combat algorithms don't know for example. But… as you can see… I've always wanted to use it to make the drones do stuff like this!"

Even as he said that, the drone was now doing 'bunny hops', much to Judy's delight.

"And the drones don't mind?" Nick asked.

"They don't care, remember they're drones." He said as the drone continued to hop on its feet like a bunny. "Like I said, the visor controls them, if the visor tells it to do something then it obeys."

"Can I try that?" Judy asked eagerly.

"You can but I doubt it will work." He said. "The visors are only designed to read human electrical brain patterns, not mammal. Even if it does the drone won't obey because… well you're not a human."

"Oh, just one try please?" Judy asked with a pleading look.

He sighed and acquiesced to her demand with an inward smile. He took off the headset and the drone stopped moving. After she put on the headset and readjusted it for her size, he saw her attempt to control the drone, but the drone simply stood still.

"I'm picturing that drone moving but it's not." Judy muttered sadly.

"That's what I figured, the visor recognizes that you're not human and thus the drone won't obey. But the visors do more than control the drones…" He explained as he picked up another visor and turned it on.

He turned it on and looked at Nick before tapping a button on the left side, activating the 'visor share' feature.

"Woaaaah!" Judy said as he showed her what he was seeing.

"What's up?" Nick asked.

"I'm seeing 'you'… but from 'Jeremy's perspective." She said. "Wow… you look 'small' to him."

"Hey Carrots, you're not exactly a giraffe yourself." He smirked.

"It also does this." He said as he focused on Nick and he lit up like a night light. "The visors can lock on and track any heat signature the user focuses on. It can also track it and share the heat signature to other visors that link up to it at a moment's notice. Heck they can even scan for specific items like hidden weapons if they have a base model to go on."

He demonstrated this by having Nick walk behind the Raptor and out of sight, and even to the other side of the room beyond their vision, and 'still' both visors were able to track him perfectly.

"They can do other stuff to like download various programs and activate them at the user's discretion, but for the most part they were used to control drones and mark key targets in battle, primarily for assassination by FOX drones but… you get the idea."

"This is so cool, uh not the 'killing' part the rest of it." Judy muttered as Nick rejoined them and they took off the visors. "Hey Jeremy… do you mind if we take these?"

"Why do you ask?" He asked curiously.

"Well… they 'are' marked for decommissioning, right? And these would be 'so' helpful to the ZPD." She said nervously. "I can't tell you, how many mammals run from officers… or how many times officers have mistaken harmless objects for deadly weapons. I still remember one case Nick and I were on where we almost mistook a squirt gun a hooded cub had while playing near the train yard at night for a pistol."

She held the visor to her chest and looked up at him with trepidation. "If ZPD had these… even a 'few'… it could save so many lives and help a great deal. I understand if you'd rather destroy them or keep them here… the whole technology and consequences… but they could 'really' help us out Jeremy."

"If it's any consolation, we promise to do everything we can to ensure nothing bad happens because of them." Nick said assuredly. "And as you said, we can't control the drones with them, so there's no risk in them turning on you."

"Hmmm." He thought as he seriously thought about their request.

He looked over at the other two shelves where even as they were talking, thousands of ANT drones were now picking up and carrying the firearms out to be salvaged for base materials and components. He weighed his options, if he didn't give them the visors nothing would change. But on the other hand, if he gave them the visors, they 'could' do more good than where they were now.

And it was as Nick said, the mammals couldn't control the drones even with the visors, and if they kept the visors with ZPD officers they wouldn't get into the wrong hands. Also unbeknownst to them all the visors were chipped and tagged so that even 'if' they were stolen, any drone could locate the visor and retrieve it, returning it to the facility if need be.

He was sure Aelita wouldn't mind, she'd probably even agree with his decision.

"Alright, you guys can have all but one of them." He said with a smirk.

"Sweeeeeet!" Judy squealed happily jumping and hugging him. "Thank you, Jeremy! We promise to take good care of them!"

He chuckled as she let him go.

"No problem, they are easy to figure out, button on the left activates the share feature to any nearby visor within a large radius, how close you wish to signal you can set up at your leisure. Same with activating the tracking feature, that activates the moment your eyes focus on a particular target, and also if you have preprogrammed anything specific for it to locate, such as a weapon of some kind, it will automatically flag it for you to see and even where it's located. Button on the right will allow you to upload whatever program you wish to use on it, though Aelita and I will have to figure out how to get that function to work since they are mostly designed to use with the drones and Eden Facility's central computer, and of course Sentinel."

"You can't take them today because Aelita and I will need to work on them, but once they are ready, I'll have a drone deliver them in a container for you."

"I think we can wait." Nick said.

*Ring, Ring*

Judy's phone rang which made her pick up quickly. "Yes Chief?" She asked in a serious tone. "We're needed in the outer district of Sarah Square, what's happened?" She was silent for a moment before her eyes went wide in shock. "A fire's broken out and is spreading from the outer most area and is heading inward? We're on our way!"

She hung up and turned to Nick.

"Nick, we gotta go, a house caught on fire in Sahara Square and now the fire's starting to spread out of control. Fire Department is trying to evacuate as many mammals as possible and they need our help!"

"Oh lovely, as if we didn't have enough problems in Sahara Square with thieves, pick pockets and break ins." Nick muttered as both mammals ran out. "Take care of yourself Jeremy, we'll be in touch!"

"Yea, be safe, we'll stop by later if we have time!" Judy called as well.

"Oh… okay." He replied quietly as they ran.

He sighed as he looked at the Harrier Drones on his way out. One entrance to the base was under Sahara Square while the other entrance was in Savannah Central. He wanted to help, but what could he do to combat a fire?

Then he turned back to the drones and looked at the darkened optics and angular head of the HARRIER. It sat there silently for who knows how long, probably marked for decommissioning since the materials, components, and resources built to make it were more valuable then the drone itself. Same for the Goliath Spider Drones, which sat curled up also waiting for decommissioning. They were too heavy on the energy to be useful when compared to anything else in the base.

"But their Hydra Class water cannons 'would' be extremely effective against the fire… and their personnel containment pods would be good at rescuing trapped mammals. Not to mention their grappling hooks to pull down debris to get at those in need of rescue." He muttered to himself. "Sentinel, send a FOX to my location and inform Aelita I need to talk to her!"

**[Unit KL-22 en route.]**

Moments later a FOX drone walked into the room and cast a hologram of Aelita for him to interact with as she was still in the command center.

"Aelita, a section of Sahara Square is on fire, and I want to help however I can." He said.

She nodded in understanding, casting an image of a newscast indicating that a fire was ravaging the outer district of the southeast of Sahara Square, just below the oasis lake.

"It looks bad alright, but I think we can use these old drone models to help fight the fire and save lives." He said turning to the drones behind him.

She nodded in approval of the Harrier Drones but looked questioningly at him regarding the spider drones. She created a hologram of the spider drinking a massive cup labeled 'energy' next to four Raptor drones drinking the same cup.

"I know those Goliath Drones guzzle energy like crazy." He said. "But they have the power and the tools to fight massive fires."

She nodded at that and put a finger to her lips to think. Then she nodded with a smile before creating an image of the East and West Entrances, and crossed out the west entrance while pointing at the Spider Drones.

"Yea the Goliath drones are too big and heavy to fit into the elevator, let alone be carried up it." He said looking back at the drones. "But if we dropped them into Sahara Square using these old Harriers, we can deploy them where they're needed."

Aelita nodded in agreement as she brought up the manifest and showed there were still a few drop pods that were serviceable, also marked for decommissioning sitting inside the HARRIERs.

"Alright, then let's get some power cells for these drones and have RAPTORs and DOG drones help carry them to the west entrance!" He said. "I'll start separating the HARRIERs with the RAPTOR already here!"

She saluted him and started typing with both hands.

It took them an hour even with the help of the drones to get the HARRIERs broken down and the pieces over to the west tunnel entrance. After that he had to reassemble the drones and piece them together while DOG drones dragged out the drop pods and power cells were pulled out as well.

Once they were pulled out it took another ten minutes to install the power cells and inform the Goliaths of their mission as well as get them all loaded into the drop pods. He and Aelita chose to man one of the Goliaths and now he was lying on his stomach while his head sat on a rest so he could look forward, and his arms were stretched out to control two arms. His feet and legs lay stretched out and were controlling the eight legs for movement. He also wore a Visor to help him better control and direct any of the drones should the occasion call for it.

"Ready Aelita?" He asked as he maneuvered his drone into the drop pod.

She looked at him from her holosphere and nodded.

"Good, you keep an eye on the heat sensors and give me updates about the news." He explained as the pod sealed up. "We're about to make the news… again."

She nodded in agreement with a shrug.

"Yea, well… if anymammal wants to try and stop me from helping however I can while I make sure not to cause damage, they'll get to see happens when they see what my species technology can really do!"

"HARRIER 1, pick up Drop Pods 1 and 2, HARRIER 2 you take Drop Pod 3."

**[As you command.]** They declared in low voices.

The two drones stood high and let the clamps on their underbellies latch onto the tops of the pods, and then slowly walked out of the tunnel into the street.

There weren't any mammals to see them appear, but within seconds the roar of plasma engines and the sound of electromagnetic pads filled the air while the HARRIERS took off.

For the first time in over three hundred and fifty years… HARRIERS once again, dominated the skies.

(Nick and Judy's PoV)

"Come on everymammal, move it move it!" Judy yelled as she ushered mammals down the street and away from the rapidly approaching fires.

It was a very cloudy day in Sahara Square as Camels and Elephants, Leopards and Giraffes were all streaming away from the section of the town currently engulfed in flame. Some were screaming and others trying to avoid breathing in the smoke that was coating the sky. This town was very populated, and while not as 'ritzy' as the more populated and favored section of Sarah Square, was still home to thousands of mammals who were now trying to get away from the raging fire that had gotten out of control.

"Come on move!" She screamed, ushering them away.

On the far side near the frontline firefighters were fighting a desperate battle to contain the flames, but despite their best efforts the flames still spread, the heat of Sahara Square was just too much for them to overcome. The mayor had issued a full evacuation of the town while firefighters tried to stop it.

"Come on keep it going, keep it going, this way!" Nick yelled as well from across the street, ushering a herd of Hippos out.

Seconds later the wind shifted and now the smoke started blowing toward them as well as the heat. She coughed heavily as she continued to direct fleeing mammals.

That was when she heard the roar of something high above.

She looked up and saw a large shadow high above, something about it triggered her brain that sent her in a sudden uncontrollable panic. Right then all she wanted to do was to run and hide, there was just something about that shadow that frightened her.

Then another shadow followed behind and she started having a panic attack that wouldn't go away.

*Peeeeeeeeeeeew*

*BOOOM*

A massive explosion sounded, and a dust cloud erupted in front of her dazing her senses and making her fall backward as smoke and debris filled the air in front of her.

"Cough cough cough…" She said trying to clear the air.

Then she looked up as the dust settled and beheld a metallic square object that was five times her size buried in the street. It had landed so heavily that it created a crater around it, with the larger end imbedded into the ground while the narrower end aimed upward.

Then it's four sides each split along seams and opened up to reveal that it was hollow on the inside.

And she stared in shock and fear as a silvery metallic body unfurled itself, revealing eight thick segmented legs, a massive spherical abdomen, a large oval center body, and a roundish-square shaped head with eight glowing blue optics staring at her.

**[Goliath Spider… Online!]** It declared.

It then stepped forward out of the pod's shape and over her, ignoring her and every other mammal that paused in shock and now fear while it made its appearance known.

It turned toward a fire hydrant and extended one of its legs toward it, slammed down on it and then lowered its whole body to lie flat on the ground.

**[Water Source has been located… pressure cannons are at maximum levels, acquiring target…]** It stated as it angled its other seven legs toward the fires nearest them which had rapidly gained on the fleeing crowds. **[Hydra Cannons ready… OPENING FIRE!]**

From each of the seven legs powerful streams of water burst and smacked into the flames.

Steam erupted from the nearest home that was on fire as the water attacked the flames, and within minutes of it bursting into flame the house became soaked, and eventually the fire was put out. There was a cheer from the crowd as the spider fought back the fire on its own.

**[Continue evacuation procedures, this unit will hold back the fire!]** It yelled.

"You heard the giant metal spider MOVE IT!" Nick yelled, ushering the crowds to get out of the area.

"Come on mammals, leave it to a professional!" Judy exclaimed as she too sprang back into action.

As she resumed helping mammals escape, she smiled as she beheld the 'old drone' that Jeremy's species had marked to be broken down for parts. As old as it was it seemed it still had a place in the world. She was also happy that Jeremy had made such an explosive return to their world, after a week of hiding so many mammals were afraid that he would never come back out after being attacked. Now however, not only had he returned but also demonstrated that his base still had more wonders to show off.

(? PoV)

"My baby's still inside!" A Skunk Mother yelled as she tried to push past the firefighters.

In front of her a massive building burned where on the third floor in their apartment, her child was 'still' in the building, not having gotten out when the fire started, and was now trapped inside.

"Please stay back we're trying to save him!" A firefighter said, pushing her back.

"NO LET ME SAVE MY BABY!" She screamed again.

*Peeeeeeeew*

*BOOOM*

Behind them a massive explosion sounded, and a dust cloud arose.

**[Goliath Spider Online!]**

Then after it died down and they all stared in shock as what was there, a giant metallic 'spider' stepped forward.

**[Warning, life signature detected in hostile zone, extreme heat and low oxygen levels detected!]** It yelled, before shoving past them all. **[Commencing extraction and evacuation procedure!]**

It sped rapidly on it's eight legs and barreled 'into' the building, causing debris to fall as it ran out of sight.

She and every mammal knew there was only 'one' place something that outlandish, futuristic and 'alien' could have come from, the human's 'Eden Facility'. Jeremy had sent help, and she held her paws together as she prayed the human's machine would rescue her baby. Seconds passed, then a minute…

A massive eruption of fire came from the third floor, followed by gasps and her scream of fear.

Then out of nowhere the metallic spider flung itself out of the side of the wall to land heavily on the ground.

**[Is there a 'Skunk' in close proximity to this unit?]** It asked looking around.

"M… Me, I'm a skunk!" She yelled hopefully.

It turned toward her before turning around, aimed its large abdomen toward her, and then opened it up to reveal a frightened skunk child cowering in fear in a little seat, covered in ash and coughing.

**[Is this your young?]**

"MY BABY!" She yelled happily, quickly running forward and pulling her little dumpling into a tight hug.

"Mama…" He squealed painfully, coughing loudly.

"Thank you, Mr. Drone… thank you!" She cried happily, holding her child close.

Another burst of fire caught everymammal's attention as another floor exploded into flame.

**[All units should evacuate the area, repeat, all units evacuate, evacuate!]** It declared loudly as it grabbed a nearby fire hydrant and started spraying powerful streams of water from each of its eight legs. **[Evacuate, evacuate!]**

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Come on, get in the bird!" He yelled, ushering crowds of mammals into the cargo hold of both HARRIER drones.

"You heard the human, get in, in in in!" Chief Bogo yelled as well.

Once he'd landed in his drop pod, scaring Chief Bogo and every nearby mammal with his sudden appearance, he'd informed the police chief of his intentions and with his aid began helping evacuate every mammal to a save location. They were using the HARRIERS to lift as many species out of the area to safety, while the other two Goliath Spiders helped fight the flames and beat them back with whatever force they could muster.

"That's it, keep it slow, nice and easy, you'll all be fine trust me!" He yelled from inside his Goliath. "Aelita, what's the evacuation looking like?"

She glanced at him and gave him an estimated number of seventy-three percent completion.

"Still a ways to go… Goliath Drones, status updates?"

**[Goliath TY-4 reporting in, this unit has encountered heavy fire activity… Hydra Cannon counter measure is achieving minimal results.]**

**[Goliath PP-9 reporting in, evacuation procedures have increased since dropping in!]** The second drone stated. **[Fire zones spreading rapidly despite assistance from the locals, additional Goliath Drones are needed to help stop the spread!]**

"Sadly, your all there is, do what you can to limit the spread and help the fire department evacuate the mammals to safety!"

**[Roger!]**

**[Roger!]**

As they finished loading up the last of the group and the HARRIERS took off, he looked over at Aelita.

"Can you give me an aerial view of how bad it looks?" He asked.

She nodded and showed on his viewscreen of what the town looked like from the sky. Nearly two thirds of it were now in flame, despite the fire department's best efforts to contain it. His drones were also trying to hold them back, and while there were two pockets where the drones had been deployed which showed the flames being pushed back, the rest of the town was still in flame and spreading.

"Is there 'anything' we can do that can help stop it?" He asked. "At this rate the flame will engulf and completely burn the whole town down to ashes."

She shook her head, indicating that they were doing all they could already.

"The drones can't handle this fire; there's just too much ground and we've only got 'three' Goliaths." He muttered. "There's got to be a way to fight this fire with what we have."

She shrugged with a frown before her 'evacuation' percentage reached eighty-two percent now.

"Jeremy!" Chief Bogo called to him.

He turned his spider to look at the bull as he got off his radio.

"There's a family of Timber Wolves caught on the roof of their home, fire department can't get to them in time, is there any way you can help em?"

"Where are they?"

"On the corner of Baker's street!"

"I'm on it!" He said as he turned and ran as fast as his spider's legs could go. "Aelita give me directions."

Instantly she had a minimap for him to follow and GPS directions.

It took him a few minutes to get there, but he spotted the house as police cars had it circled. The building was in flame like every other building around it, he stepped over the cars and launched grappling hooks onto the roof so he could climb up with his spider. As he climbed, he could hear the officers cheering him on.

"Is it just me or is it getting really hot in this drone?" He asked Aelita.

She pulled up the temperature overlay and showed that the temperature was reaching over a hundred degrees.

"All this fire is heating up the drone's body… getting really hard to breathe properly."

Once on the roof he found the wolf family cowering in the center before staring in shock at his spider.

"Over here, I'll get you out of here!" He yelled, signaling them. "It's me, Jeremy the human, I'm inside the spider come on!"

Once they heard his name, they all ran toward his spider. There were too many for his drone to carry in its evacuation pod, so to bring them all he told them to put the pups in the chamber, while the adults held onto his spider's clawed arms. Family in place he walked over to the side just as the roof sank a bit.

"Hang on…" He yelled as he prepared to jump. "This is going to be bumpy, hang on tight!"

The Timber Wolf parents nodded and gripped tighter.

"Three, two… one… Geronimooooooooo!" He yelled as he jumped off the roof.

His spider landed heavily on the ground just as the roof caved in and a burst of flame erupted.

"Are you two okay?" He asked.

"Yes… we're fine!" The father yelled.

He put them down and opened up the pod so the parents could get their cubs.

"Thank you Mr. Human!" The cubs called.

"Get out of here, get to safety!" He called, pointing at the squad cars.

**[Unit Jeremy!]** One of the goliaths stated, appearing on his hud. **[Evacuation procedures have been completed! All civilians have been safely cleared out of the danger zone, only the fire department and police remain to be evacuated!]**

**[Unit Jeremy!]** The other goliath called, appearing on his hud now. **[All attempts to combat the fire are failing, the heat being generated by the wall generators to the north has decreased our Hydra Cannons' effectiveness by thirty percent even at this distance! For every building we put out, the fire spreads to two more!]**

"Dammit, I thought the goliath's cannons would be enough to combat this fire." He said as he looked around. "We have to find some way to fight this fire or the entire town will be burned down."

**[Suggestion…]** One of the HARRIER drones said as it now appeared on his hud. **[This unit still carries a salvo of plasma missiles, if deployed at key locations could suffocate the flames and destroy the already damaged sections of the combat area, thus eliminating the fire and preventing it from spreading.]**

"And destroy most of the town along with the fire, I'm trying to save it not blow it up!" He yelled at them. "I know they're combat drones, but do they 'have' to suggest the nuclear option? And remind me to mark those missiles your carrying for decommissioning!"

It didn't help that his spider was really getting hot, he was starting to sweat badly.

"There's got to be a way… come on brain, think!" He muttered as he looked around. "If only it would rain that would be a great help!"

Aelita nodded in agreement but showed a forecast saying that it wasn't predicted to rain that day.

"Yea that really is bad luck." He muttered as he looked at the sky.

The massive cloud formation that filled the sky high above looked like a perfect candidate to deliver rain, but based on it's type it would take it some time to actually rain, rain that would not come fast enough to save the burning town.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a Nimbostratus cloud?" He asked.

Aelita nodded, indicating that yes it was as he suggested.

"And if I remember my basic meteorology studies, a cloud of that type at this point would be in the later stages of it's Water Cycle… which means all it would take is for the water droplets in the cloud to start tightly packing together for rain to start falling…" He muttered to himself as he began thinking. "I have an idea!"

"HARRIER drones, regroup at my location!" He ordered.

**[As you command!]**

**[Order Received!]**

He shook his head to try and clear it, the heat from being inside the drone was getting too much for him to bear.

**[Unit Jeremy, the fire department is redeploying toward the unburned section of the town to try and halt the fire's advance, what are your orders?]** One of the goliath spiders asked.

"Go with them and help, do everything you can to keep that fire from spreading!"

**[Roger that!]** They both said in unison.

Within a few seconds he heard the roar of the Harriers flying overhead awaiting new orders. "Alright you two, synchronize your AIs with my Visor!"

**[Synchronizing…]**

As he and the drones waited for the sync to be completed a squad car pulled up to them, and Judy and Nick jumped out and ran toward him.

"Jeremy, fire department's trying to hold the fire's spread in another section of the town, we need to get out!" Judy hollered.

"Not yet… I have an idea!" He said.

"Jeremy, I get it, your trying to help but this is too big for even 'your' drones to handle!" Nick stated.

"I know but I have an idea that might work, trust me on this!" He said, turning his drone to look at them.

**[Synchronization complete… awaiting your commands!]**

"Good… now let's get this started!" He said as he turned to the sky now.

As his thoughts took hold the drones turned in unison and took off in a burst of plasma fire, which sent a wave of heat 'and' actually pushed Nick and Judy back a few feet because of their small size and light weight.

"So, what are you planning?" Judy asked.

"Honestly… I have no idea… but I have to try it." He said. "My people never used drones in this manner before… I'm just winging it." He looked over to Aelita. "Aelita, monitor the cloud and the water particles in it, and keep me updated!"

After a few minutes the drones had reached the altitudes he wanted them to and began their long flight.

"Mother nature… if you can hear me… I'm here to apologize for everything my species has done to you and this world in the past." He said as he continued to focus on their flight pattern. "We had a beautiful paradise, a wonderful world you created… and we destroyed it. Frankly some of my people truly believed we deserved to go extinct, I know that nobody was to blame for it… things spiraled out of control. I'm not asking you to forgive us… but if you are listening… I'm asking you to help me redeem my species in 'their' eyes."

With that he angled his spider's arms to the sky to help his mind better focus through the heat in the drone.

"So, mother nature… if your listening, give my species a helping hand… just one last time, not for my species' sake but for their sake." He whispered. "Forgive me for poking you, I've learned from my history classes not to mess with you, but for just this one occasion… I need to poke you, so you get the message!"

The HARRIERS began turning in a long circular pattern, rapidly gaining speed. His mind began to direct them, control them, put them through the movement of circling through the sky high above them.

**[Current Speed, Mach 1.4…]** One of the HARRIERs stated.

"Not fast enough."

High above the two HARRIERs circled and flew, flying in and out of sight as they continued to soar in an oval shaped flight pattern. One drone flew thousands of feet above the other, matching their speeds per his will. To mammals on the ground they would have looked like dots in the sky with how fast they were going, barely able to keep up with them or even see them through the clouds. Yet his visor tracked their movements and kept them on target.

After five minutes the heat from the nearby fires was baking his drone's body, it was starting to feel less like he was inside of a drone and more like he was getting a suntan directly from the Solar Core.

**[Current Speed, Mach 2.6…]**

"Still not fast enough!"

*Feeeeeeeeewsh…*

*Feeeeeewsh*

Every time the HARRIERS flew a full circle, they signaled their path with a roar as their plasma engines burned hot and bright. Soon it was becoming noticeable to even the mammals on the ground that they were high above and flying in circles.

Yet still he pushed them to move faster.

He glanced at Aelita who was shaking her head, showing no sign that there was any change in the cloud.

"It's too soon… need more time…" He muttered to her. "They aren't going fast enough… they need to go faster!"

**[Current Speed, Mach 4.1.]**

*Feeewsh Feewsh Feeeewsh Feeewsh*

"Faster!"

*Feewshfeeewshfeewshfeewsh*

"Faster!"

**[Warning, current speed Mach 6.5, exceeding safety limit for visor sync.]**

"Just do it!" He ordered. "Increase speed to Mach 9!"

Faster and faster they flew, and as the drones hinted the faster they flew the harder it was for his mind to keep them moving as he wanted. His eyes were having difficulty keeping up with them, the more he tried to focus on their dark shapes the more it hurt his head and eyes to keep them focused.

Yet it was starting to work as they neared Mach 8, he was noticing a definite 'gap' in the clouds formed by the drones as they flew. Aelita showed him that the cloud was beginning to condense, the water droplets making it up were beginning to merge and become heavier.

"Jeremy… what are you doing?" Judy asked as she and Nick stared high above them.

"Something my ancestors 'never' did before… even at our highest point!" He replied, focusing on the drones.

**[Attention, Current Speed reaching Mach 8.9!]**

High above the cloud began to darken from the drone's movement, their high speed and constant flight pattern creating a vortex of their own wind current twisting and condensing the cloud and tightening its form with each turn.

*Rmmmble*

"Almost there!" He yelled as he heard the rumble of thunder.

He glanced at Aelita and she showed that the first rains were beginning to drop.

(Judy's PoV)

She watched high above as the flying drones moved faster than she could see, yet what they were doing amazed her.

The weather forecast had said it would be cloudy that day but there was no chance of rain.

Yet Jeremy was defying that forecast, using his drones to 'force' the weather to change and make it rain as a thunderstorm sounded up above.

"Now… a Nimbostratus cloud… becomes Cumulonimbus!" Jeremy declared tiredly from inside his drone. "Separate!"

Instantly two shapes moving faster than he can imagine flew through the clouds and split up. They just vanished from sight as she saw their dark shapes soar out of sight.

Then she felt the first drops of rain hit her face.

"I don't believe it… I 'can't' believe it…" She muttered.

She glanced at her fiancé who was just as impressed at what they were seeing, as a bolt of lightning sounded and flashed high above.

*Ksssssthuuuuuuuuumble…*

The rain began pouring down within seconds, wetting and matting her fur down and soaking her uniform, but she honestly didn't care. Around her clouds of steam rose as torrential rain met blazing fires from town.

Thinking quickly, she took her phone out and looked up that one image they had of an 'Ancient Spirit', a story that told of how the spirits could command the weather at will. The image showed up and she saw that, while the spirit didn't even closely resemble a human, with the spirit mostly scaly and with talons, it did show it pointing to the sky and forming a cloud to make it rain in the harsh desert, supposedly bringing life to an otherwise dead landscape.

"You know Sugar Carrots, for supposedly not doing something like this with their drones…" Nick muttered to her, looking at her phone as well. "He sure makes his species look like they could do just about anything they set their minds to."

"You got that right darling." She muttered as she looked up at the sky.

Jeremy turned his drone toward them.

"Uh… sorry if I ruined any mammal's plans for the day." He apologized. "I think I went overboard with the cloud… but I couldn't think of another way to put out all the fires at the same time as saving the town with only the three Goliath Spider drones the base had. So, I thought… since there was already a Nimbostratus cloud in the sky, I figured why not use it?"

"Jeremy… I don't think anymammal is going to complain after what you did." Nick said with a smile.

Within a few minutes the two flying drones returned to Jeremy's position along with the other two Goliath Spiders. Not only that but Jeremy's Solar Carriage also arrived on the scene to take him back to the West Entrance to the base since he was getting uncomfortable inside the Spider drone. It would take the rain a full hour before all the fires were put out, and another hour with the Fire Department confirming everything was under control, but the news media would be talking about his 'miracle' for the rest of the day, but they did so without talking to him as he returned as quickly as he could.

The drop pods were also retrieved by the Harrier drones, and once all the spiders were all curled up and placed inside their pods, they and the Harriers returned to the Eden Facility, where they were all transported back into an empty Drone Storage bay.

While parts of the town were completely destroyed from the fire, the damage incurred was thankfully reduced, and the town as a whole was saved. Those mammals who were interviewed or shared their experience with all of Zootopia described the actions of the drones as heroic, facing off against a horrible tragedy with a fortitude and calmness they didn't have.

Yet what this news did was tell the mammals one thing, that they all had been fearing.

No matter what happened to Jeremy, he was not going to hide away underground and let his species die out in such a pitiful fashion. If they wanted to stop him from trying to help, they would have to try harder than simply threatening his life.

=Bonus Short, The Story of Sun Shine and Moon Light=

(Aelita's PoV)

It was late at night as she smirked while watching a countdown timer tick on her website. A new page was being released that day, and while Jeremy was busy with his surprise to Gazelle, she had to keep her schedule going on her website. Once it hit zero, she opened the page and thousands of users flooded into it to read her newest post, a folk story of human lore and myth.

The story was just one of millions of stories, that told the tale of why it was that the sun rose and set. Where it originated, she couldn't verify, perhaps it was a story passed down in generations of people, or perhaps it was just something a parent made up to tell their child as a bedtime story. Either way it mattered not, she shared it with them…

'_**In the beginning there were two kingdoms that ruled the world… that existed on opposite ends… in one kingdom a young and handsome prince, and the other a noble and beautiful princess…'**_ She thought.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Alright, you're to fly low and as quietly as possible to this location, Aelita gave you her exact position. FOX drones you will keep it hidden until you return with your holo emitters."

**[This unit is not adept as stealth flights; however, this unit will obey.]** The drone declared as it turned around and marched out of the cavern with four FOX drones in its holding room.

As they vanished, he went back into the command center to have Aelita call Gazelle.

'_**Both the prince and princess loved each other deeply, but their kingdoms did not share this feeling, and so in secret each shared their feelings with the other with the only creatures they could trust, as each befriended a creature of mythical origins… a Pegasus and Unicorn.'**_

(Gazelle's PoV)

'_**Moon Light, the noble and prideful Unicorn of the night was friends with the prince, while Sun Shine a calm and humble Pegasus was friends with the princess. Both agreed to take messages to the other, knowing their feelings were true and wanting them to be happy. So in the dead of night Moon Light ran past the kingdom's guards, while in broad daylight Sun Shine soared higher than any could see.'**_

She just finished watching the news, hearing how Jeremy had made a stunning return, not only saving Sahara Square from a massive fire which started because of poor fire-prevention construction, but also did it with such flare that mammals were now drawing comparisons to his actions as those of their myths and legends about his species as 'spirits'.

*Ring*

She picked her phone up and saw that it was Aelita, meaning Jeremy was calling her. Smiling she instantly answered it.

"Jeremy, how are you doing?"

"_Hi Gazelle, I'm guessing you saw the news…"_

"Saw it, Jeremy they 'still' are talking about it." She giggled. "What you did was wonderful, helping save all those mammals 'and' showing off your drones abilities, not to mention making it rain."

"_Yea… I might have gone overboard… I had an idea and kind of let it get out of hand."_ He admitted sheepishly. _"Anyway, how are you feeling?"_

"A little better now that you called." She said with a smile.

Truth be told she had been having it hard with performing since the attack on his life. Wondering if he would return or would lock himself away kept putting her in a bad mindset and that affected her performance in practice. But hearing his voice now and seeing what he did put her heart at ease again.

"_Well, I have something that 'might' help you… some of my drones were going through an old storage room, most of it is old items, but we found some things you and other mammals might like."_ He said. _"I've even sent a drone to take it to you, it should be there soon."_

"Really?" She giggled. "Should I expect it downstairs or something?"

"_No… actually look outside your window."_

She did as he asked and looked to see that the window was shaking ever so slightly, rattling as gusts of strong wind battered at it.

In confusion she walked over and opened the window.

Instantly a pair of fox drones appeared holding a metal container between them, and upon appearing they threw the box unceremoniously into her room before vanishing again.

"_I'm sorry if it looks… rude… but I didn't want anyone to know who was receiving it… so I told the FOX drones to keep the HARRIER hidden with their holograms."_ Jeremy explained as she picked up the small box and brought it to her bed.

"It's okay, what is it?" She asked as she stared at the box.

"_Open it up, there's a little switch on the top."_

She found the switch after some fumbling, and flicked it, making a small seam open and causing it to split apart to reveal.

"Jeremy…" She whispered in awe.

Inside the box was a medium sized plush doll, it looked like a magenta purple 'Horse', with midnight blue mane and tail that sparkled in the night, while on its head a single horn protruded outward. For eyes there were silvery white orbs and hanging from its neck a rusted and dull looking locket hung in the shape of a crescent moon.

"_It's called a Unicorn… it's a mythical creature from my species time… it was said that if you ever met one it was a symbol of your purity of soul, or if you were blessed by the touch of it's horn you would be cured of all ailments."_ He explained. _"There's a lot about Unicorns my species made up, but I figured you might like it to cheer you up."_

She smiled warmly as she held the toy to her chest, feeling its soft plushy body and smiling happily at the present he sent her.

"I love it Jeremy… thank you."

As she went to bed upon hanging up her phone, she cuddled into her bed with her new friend. The toy was old, she could smell the age on it, and the rusted locket and slightly faded coloring on the plush indicated as such, there were even bits of dust flaking off it.

But she loved it all the more because of it.

(Jeremy's PoV)

'_**After years of carrying messages between the two, at long last both Prince and Princess finally planned their escape together, and with the help of their friends Sun Shine and Moon Light, both fled their kingdoms together.'**_

He yawned as he lay in bed after cleaning up, as he did, he looked at the toy he'd kept for himself. In the old storage room of old items from his species' past, he'd found the twin to the Unicorn plush that he gave to Gazelle as a present to help cheer her up.

The Pegasus Plush, an orange colored Horse with white feathery wings, yellow mane and tail with red eyes, was the twin to the Unicorn he'd given her. Both were based off an old story turned into a television show 'long' before the Final War, and he and the drones found both toys lying in storage almost completely coated in dust.

It was actually thanks to the dust that they still had their original coloring.

He'd kept the Pegasus plush because he liked it, having liked the mythical creature during his old Literature and Mythos classes.

"Good night then…" He whispered silently as he lay in bed. "Sentinel, wake me up as usual tomorrow."

**[As you request…]**

He snoozed heavily, watched over by the Pegasus Plush that silently watched over him, with a rusted lock in the shape of a sun hanging from its neck.

(Aelita's PoV)

She smirked as the drones made their return, even as all the users on her website continued to flood her channel for the story page she posted.

'_**Freed from their kingdoms, they fled to another land, but both were pursued by those who wished to keep them separated. So, both Sun Shine and Moon Light, combined their strengths and created a special kingdom just for them in the heavens. Formed from the horn of Moon Light, and lifted high above the ground by the wings of Sun Shine.'**_

'_**Thus, the kingdom of the Moon was created and forever watched over the world below in the heavens above. Forever in sight, but forever out of reach from those below. It was forever a part of the world, always to be seen even in the day while lighting the world at night.'**_


	23. Chapter 21

_When Morning is here to dry up our tears,_

_At peace will my soul be once more,_

_When morning is here to free us from fear,_

_I'll bury the chains that I wore…_

Chapter 21 – Gazelle's Guest of Honor

(Jeremy's PoV)

"And so, in conclusion… that is how these visors work." He explained to the room full of cops, most of them being predators with the only 'prey' cop being Judy. "This button turns it on, this dial changes the visor's visual mode, and lastly we've found a way to allow them to interact with various pieces of technology, such as phones, to download certain applications and programs that you can use."

He held up the visor and continued his demonstration, putting it on and showing them what he'd spent the last two hours explaining in greater detail.

"They have a 'visor share mode' as it called, allowing active visors within close range to share what they are seeing, be they visuals or marked entities. If a mammal, or human, is 'marked' by the visor's wielder they'll be highlighted a unique and bright color that any visor nearby will spot and can track for miles. Finally, as a standard feature every visor can scan any kind of weapon into their collective database and instantly spot it if an individual is marked, highlighting it and identifying what it is."

"Thank you, Mr. Jeremy, now on that note are there any questions?" Chief Bogo asked from the front desk.

Instantly all of them raised their paws eagerly.

"Any questions relating to the visors and not 'me'?" He asked hopefully.

Both he and Aelita sitting on the table nearby watched as they all lowered their paws. He glanced at Aelita who just shook her head in amusement. She just raised her eyebrows and nodded toward them, telling him he might as well just answer their curiosity.

He just sighed in defeat and relented. "Alright I'll answer a few." He said with a nervous smile.

They all shot back up again and he pointed at one tiger in the back. "How did you change the weather that one day, like 'really' do it?" He asked.

"Mostly just remembering my meteorological science lessons regarding how rain is created, the clouds were already set to rain I just… sped up the process." He said. "My drones did all of the work, I just had them fly really fast, create a cyclone-like wind current that made the cloud condense and squeeze in on itself. Then it just acted like a really wet sponge being squeezed. There was no magic or anything, just clever use of the available technology I had access to."

They all shot their hands back up and he pointed at a hippo now. "Why did you make those 'raptors' you call em, look like they do?"

"Well during the final war they were built to play on human's fear of ancient predators, Raptors were considered the 'smartest' and thus deadliest predator of their time." He explained. "There's an old saying that if you saw '1' Raptor you were already dead. Because by the time you noticed the one in front of you, the other two on your left and right were about to kill you."

He took a timber wolf's question now. "What about those 'dog' drones you call em?"

"Well, as the war went on… most species of 'dogs' went extinct because of all the radiation, the solar core explosions… food scarcity… we tried to save them in some fashion." He said with a sad smile. "Dogs were considered man's best friend… they were incredibly loyal, friendly, made wonderful pets and companions… and it's just sad that we chose to use their form as the most common drone for frontline combat."

He took another question, this time from a snow leopard. "Do humans always eat meat?"

"We're omnivores, we can eat meat and greens." He said, showing his own teeth to demonstrate.

As one they all 'ooohed' as they saw.

"Alright I think that's enough asking questions about the human." Chief Bogo said. "We have some training tomorrow to do with these visors, I expect you all to attend, dismissed!"

He breathed a sigh of relief at that as all the officers started leaving. He had hoped that teaching them how the visors worked would only take a short time, but realizing how much of the visors would be alien to them made him take longer. Even though he left instructions thanks to Aelita for Bogo to print up and give to them, this new technology he was offering them would still take them a while to get used to.

"Jeremy before you go there's something, I want to ask you really quick." The chief of police asked him politely.

"Sure, what is it?" He replied, picking up Aelita.

He reached down below the table and pulled up a suitcase and opened it, showing a rubber coated firearm, an assault rifle by the looks of it. "What is this stuff, we tried cleaning it off our weapons after the 'Mutt' incident, and nothing has worked. The stuff is just coated into everything, every little nook and cranny making it useless."

"It's a rubber adhesive I created for MUTT to use since he no longer used any offensive weaponry." He explained. "What it does is that upon being expelled and making contact it instantly reacts to the air, expanding depending on how much hits the target. It's incredibly hot so it triggers a chemical reaction. On the outside it solidifies while inside it melts and seeps into any available space it can until it cools down. It's designed so that it sticks to any non-organic surface, and its primary use is to disable weaponry. If it's organic, then the rubber just simply slides off"

He demonstrated this by pulling the trigger before the chief could react. Instead of a bullet, a squelching noise filled the air as a lump of rubber poked out, before falling back into the barrel.

"As you can see it makes the gun completely useless, effectively disarming and disabling an assailant before they have a chance to do any harm."

"Jeremy… don't do that again." Bogo said as he wiped his forehead. "Just 'tell' me next time, alright?"

"Sorry, I just know how it works so I'm not afraid of it."

"Well that is what I wanted to ask you about." The chief continued. "I was wondering if you would be willing to make us bullets that use this stuff, like the visors, this would go a long way to solving a lot of problems. As you know gun violence is something that we have, and it often ends in a deadly confrontation."

"With all due respect Chief Bogo, I understand… but I will 'not' turn my facility into a munition's factory… even for something good like my rubber gel bullets." He said sternly to which Aelita nodded in agreement. "Human history has always… always been about war, fighting… rarely peace. Eden Facility 17 no longer has to produce weapons, and I don't want that to change. I want my species legacy, our 'last' legacy to be of peace, not arms."

The bull looked at him for a moment before nodding in acceptance. "I understand completely, I just wanted to ask if you would be willing to."

"I can't make the bullets for you; besides they wouldn't work with your weapons." He explained. "What I 'can' do however, is provide the chemical formula and procedure to make the rubber gel, as for the firearms you will have to figure that out yourself. Best idea to start would be… I guess a squirt gun."

"A squirt gun?" He asked incredulously.

"MUTT's midrange rifle is essentially just an air cannon that fires the gel in spherical form, same basic principle." He said as he picked up Aelita. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No that's pretty much it, thank you for all you've done today, with the visors and especially your offer with the rubber gel bullets." He said with a nod. "I'll leave you to head out on your own with Nick and Judy, enjoy the concert."

Finally, after what felt like forever, he and Aelita started heading towards the front desk to wait on Judy and Nick to get out of their uniforms. "That was exhausting." He muttered to her.

She rolled her eyes at him with a smirk while leaning against him as close as her sphere would allow.

"I know I know; three hours is not 'forever' compared to how long you spent asleep." He said.

She nodded with a knowing smile.

"Hey Aelita… do you think we're doing things too fast…?"

She looked up at him with a curious expression as he sat on a bench to talk to her.

"With the whole visors and now the rubber gel ammunition chemical formula. Do you think we're rushing things with them? I started with just their windmill technology, making it more 'efficient' and 'effective' using their technology while using my engineering techniques, nothing they couldn't achieve on their own. But now I've got Ema curing all their diseases, making artificial organs for them, and the solar powered vehicles, and now the visors and the rubber gel bullets." He explained to her. "I want to help but… I'm afraid we might be rushing things, remember when we were attacked? Some mammals don't want me to change things, and I'm afraid I might be doing more harm than good."

She gave only a slight nod of understanding, smiling only a little before she closed her eyes, raised her head and vanished in a flash of light, before taking the form of an old man with numerous wrinkles. Her holographic form took out a cigar and nodded toward him with a knowing nod. _**"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."**_ S/he said. _**"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking."**_

With that she returned to her normal form as a young girl wearing only a simple white dress.

"I understand." He said to her quietly. "I just hope nothing bad happens because of something 'I' did."

She nodded in agreement, before returning to lean against her holosphere's wall as close as it would allow while he got up and walked toward the main entrance. As he did, he saw Officer Clawhauser at the front desk, fiddling around with a visor and his tablet while a box of donuts sat next to him.

"Having some trouble with the visor?" He asked warmly.

"Oh, it's nothing, just trying to figure out how to get this thing to connect to my phone!" He said as he stared at it without looking up.

"It helps if you turn it on, 'before' looking at the phone so that it can connect to it." He said with a chuckle.

"Wait I didn't have this thing on?" He said as he finally took it off to stare at him. "Oh, Em, Goodness its you Mr. Jeremy uuuuuh how can I help you sir?"

"Here, let me show you how it works." He said as he put Aelita down on his desk and took the visor. "This turns it on, this switches the visor's modes… and to interact with your tablet to download whatever program you want from it onto it, all you have to do is put it on and focus with the piece of technology on for the two to interact."

"This is so cool…" Fat tiger said as he put the visor on.

"Oh it's, nothing it's just a piece of technology is all…" He said trying to downplay the visor.

"I can put the Gazelle App on this thing!" He said excitedly. "Oh, this is so cool."

"Gazelle App?" He asked in confusion.

"You know Gazelle, greatest singer of our lifetime, Angel with Horns." He said quickly before flipping his phone to show Gazelle dancing next to what looked like one of her backup dancers, with Clawhauser's face pasted over theirs. "The app just got updated with some of her latest hits, my personal favorite time passer!"

"I didn't know she had an app, did you Aelita?" He asked to AI, only to find her dancing alongside a holographic Gazelle who was 'also' dancing alongside one of her backup dancers.

Only Aelita's head was in their head's place, and she had a goofy expression on her face to mirror Clawhauser's. **[Wow, your one hot dancer 'AI, AELITA'.]** A digitized-robotic voice of Gazelle's said.

"You have the app as well?" Clawhauser asked her eagerly. "Oooooh isn't it the best app ever!"

She ended the little display in her sphere and returned to normal, eagerly agreeing with him and giggling.

He just shook his head in amusement at Aelita's antics, he figured she just saw the app on his phone and instantly downloaded it to try out herself while the tiger was busy chatting with him.

"How's it going Jeremy, ready for the concert?" Nick's voice called out.

He turned to see Judy and Nick wearing civilian clothes and concealed firearms in their pants pockets.

"Oh, I envy you guys, free suite seating for Gazelle's Charity Concert, luxury food service…" Clawhauser said with a sigh. "All without having to pay anything."

"We're going there to work Clawhauser, not just to enjoy ourselves." Judy said with a serious face. "Just because Jeremy is Gazelle's Guest of Honor doesn't mean we won't still be cops on duty."

"That's what you say Carrots, but let's see how you look 'after' we get there." Nick said with a smirk.

"Speaking of the concert you guys should start heading out, I don't even want to think of the lines to get in!" Clawhauser said suddenly. "I mean, sure, you guys will probably get express seating but still the traffic is going to be bad to the stadium."

"Thank you very much, and take care of the visors they are… not exactly the sturdiest of things from the base." He said, picking up Aelita and walking out with Judy and Nick.

"Oh, I can't wait to get to the concert, we had ground level seating the last time we went to her concert." Judy said instantly.

"Not even five minutes." Nick chuckled.

"Does Gazelle host concerts often?" He asked them.

"Eh maybe once or twice a year depending on the occasion or event she's asked to perform for. The last time was to celebrate the end of the Night Howler Incident."

"And this time is to help raise money to help pay for Ema's efforts to cure all diseases and cancers…" He said.

"I think it's more to do with 'you' Jeremy then Ema." Nick said as they neared his Solar Carriage. "I mean sure, Ema is doing all that work in your big fancy base, but without you she wouldn't have done anything for us."

At that Aelita nodded in agreement.

"Aelita would have helped you, of that I'm sure." He countered.

She nodded again, but used one hand to create the images of a bunch of calendars, showing years passing.

"Alright let's not think about thoughts of extinction, instead we're going to go to this concert and enjoy ourselves!" Judy said quickly. "Jeremy is invited to her charity concert as her 'guest of honor', we get swag suite seating."

He took a deep breath and nodded in agreement as the door opened at his approach and the three RAPTOR drones standing guard kept watch to guard his carriage. Once they all got comfortable and ready, he gave the directions to the Polar Tundra Stadium.

**[Moving out!]** HORSE declared over the intercom and soon they were all underway, with his carriage flanked on three sides by the RAPTOR drones.

Even after two weeks since the attack he still had to have RAPTOR drones protecting him, them being the more 'visually threatening' drones and thus the best chance to dissuade potential attackers.

As they rode on toward Tundra Town, he looked out the window and his thoughts turned once more toward the antelope. Gazelle had pulled a few strings to get him a private viewing suite for him, and permitted Judy and Nick to join him because of the Mayor's request to have guards at all times in public She was extremely excited about him attending and did everything in her power to make sure he would be comfortable and have as good a time as possible, even saying she'd practiced a special number in 'his' honor.

She even told him in passing that she had a special surprise with Aelita's help to show off for the concert, and Aelita herself had a surprise for the concert to make it extra special.

'_She's doing all this for me, but what am I doing for her?'_ He thought questioningly.

=Meanwhile at the Concert=

"Alright mammals its almost time, we're starting to let patrons into the building for the event, and I want to run over again over our biggest VIP tonight!" A small mouse was saying to a huge group of mammal employees while on a serving cart. "We got a slew of VIPs tonight, but our biggest one is Jeremy Wilheart, you all know who he is by now, he's Gazelle's Guest of Honor, and he has special needs that have to be fulfilled. The room he is in must be kept nice and warm; I don't want that room to go a degree below what it is right now!"

He turned to the chefs.

"Lester, one of our business financers says he likes chocolate, especially hot chocolate, I want a fresh batch ready BEFORE he gets here, and keep the food we made for him warm. Bring out those special heaters we save for occasions like this."

"Got it boss!"

"Naomi, go through that room again and make sure it's 'spotless', I don't want to see even a speck of dust before he arrives."

"Yes sir."

"And make sure you separate our normally 'cold' beverages, so they are 'well away' from the warm stuff, put up a warning sign on the front glass saying how cold it is! I don't want any accidents on my watch! And make sure to put the ice cubes well away from the food and hot chocolate drink, I don't want a single ice cube near them!"

He looked at them with a serious expression.

"There will also be a 'drone', one of those machines, following along with him. It's going to sit outside his room and scan everymammal and everything going into his room. Just let it scan, show you're not there to harm him, and above all 'ignore it'. The things are just machines doing their jobs, same as us, it wants to keep him safe so he and his guests can enjoy the concert, so just let it do its job. Now let's get to doing 'our' jobs mammals, let's go!"

As they all broke to get to work news crews outside were reporting about the latest concert to be held by Gazelle.

"And rumors stating that Gazelle has something 'extravagant' planned for tonight's Charity Concert are in fact confirmed, the pop idol and singer as well as model says that tonight will be a night mammals will remember for 'years', as it will be her longest performance yet, supposedly well over an hour. What she has planned nomammal knows, but due to the nature of this concert helping Zootopia pay for the materials and supplies the human medical drone 'Ema' requests to continue her work, it can only be related to her guest of honor, Jeremy Wilheart who is also attending the concert."

"And while all the other entrances are naturally being swarmed as guests are trying to get to their seats at this time, a special entrance has been quartered off for VIPs, in particular one VIP's private carriage, Jeremy Willheart's solar carriage. We have confirmed reports that his vehicle has entered Tundra Town and is nearing the stadium. Security is at an all time high as you can see behind me, security guards are virtually around every corner around the stadium, sections of streets blocked off with police cars and SWAT vans, in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the incident two weeks ago the last time Jeremy's carriage arrived in public. However, it is doubtful that such an attempt will be made again, as this time three of his facility's Raptor drones are escorting him, and one is reported to be following him into the stadium to stand guard outside of his suite."

"With the concert about to begin in just less than an hour, the real question remains, what has Gazelle got planned for her fans?"

(Gazelle's PoV)

She was just putting the finishing touches to her dance outfit, making sure her makeup was perfect and above all just settling down on her nerves.

She's been used to performances like this, singing live and dancing in front of a huge crowd was nothing new to her. It still caused her to feel a bit antsy, because she didn't want to disappoint her fans or mess up in front of them. Yet today's performance was going to be different.

She was going to sing for Jeremy, somemammal that all mammalkind were thinking and describing as nothing less than a hero, an angel, a 'real' angel.

An Angel without Fur.

"No pressure girl…" She chuckled to herself.

That wasn't the reason though that she was more nervous today than she usually was. It was because for the last week she'd been practicing a new number, a new song, one she'd been practicing just for Jeremy.

"Twenty minutes Gazelle!" Somemammal called to her.

"Thank you." She called, before taking a calming breath.

Looking over at her right she stared into the eyes of her Unicorn plush that Jeremy had given her. It wasn't as dusty before; she'd gotten it cleaned and hired a professional to do it. Now it's beautiful magenta purple fur, it's midnight blue mane and tail, and its crystal silver horn glinted slightly in her changing room.

The only thing that didn't change was the locket, it still was rusted and dull, but that was because she didn't want to hurt it. Inside was a message that, after careful squinting, read 'My Angel'.

Obviously, Jeremy didn't write it, and it was clear he didn't even open it, but the faded message just meant far too much to her to risk damaging it just to make the locket shiny again.

So, the locket hung from the toy's neck, the toy serving as her encouragement as to who she was singing for tonight.

Smiling she picked up the toy and held it next to her heart, thinking of Jeremy watching her perform tonight giving her a bubbly feeling inside. As if on cue her heart began beating ever so slightly, wishing he would be in the front row so she could see him as she performed, but Tundra Town's cold climate meant that wasn't possible for ground floor viewing. Though that didn't stop her from asking a few favors and even renting an entire suite for him and him alone on her card so he could have the best seat in the house.

She could hear a loud cheering outside suddenly sound, and she knew that Jeremy must have arrived.

Putting the toy down she bopped it on the nose and whispered, "Showtime little one, wish me luck!"

Before she walked out of her dressing room.

(Jeremy's PoV)

He looked out at the large stadium, and even more the crowd of mammals swarming to get in and cheering as he approached while an empty path was cleared for him and his carriage and the drones. They all made their way toward a 'reserved' section where the stadium's staff had created a special heated tunnel to allow him to safely exit his vehicle without risking triggering his Cryogentic Sclerosis.

Before he entered though one of the RAPTOR drones quickly darted forward and into the tunnel, both to act as sentry and guard for him and his party.

"I just hope they don't get scared by the drone." He muttered as HORSE pulled his carriage up to the entrance.

"Worst comes to worst, we'll just take the drone into the suite with us, so it doesn't bother anymammal and we'll wait until every other mammal has left." Judy said warmly.

They soon slid into place and the carriage door opened up, and Jeremy had the briefest moment of feeling a wave of cold touch his body as the temperature outside entered his carriage. Then the carriage's temperature-controlled environment kicked in and rapidly countered the cold, warming the air inside before it could affect his body.

"Luxury entrance, nice." Nick muttered as he got out first with Judy.

Then he got out with Aelita and looked around at all of the electric heaters littering the floor of the canvas covered tunnel, maintaining an extremely warm environment. To his left his RAPTOR drone escort stood staring around, scanning with its blue optics for any threat and not finding any.

A shrew welcomed them to the stadium and then lead up to the suite levels.

"You don't have to worry about anything sir, we have your suite's temperature perfect to accommodate you." He said cheerfully. "You'll find refreshments already waiting for you in there, and if you need anything don't hesitate to hit the room service bell, our professional servers will be more than happy to take any request you have!"

"That's very considerate of you." He said.

"Here you go sir, room 201, enjoy the concert!" The shrew said as he hopped into his little car and drove off.

"This is really nice." He said.

"Hahahahhaha!" A voice laughed loudly nearby, causing him, Nick and Judy to turn to their right.

A door had opened up and what looked like a female Hyena was walking out, wearing a very expensive looking suit and apparently laughing at something as she stumbled out.

"Ooooohhooh you can't do that to me now… you know I can't take jokes Regulus!" She cackled loudly as she closed the door behind her.

As she turned, she spotted him and his party; and the laughter died out of her almost instantly. "Oh my, I didn't know you were next to my suite Jeremy Wilheart!" She said eagerly walking toward him.

"**Hyeeeeeearh…"** His drone hissed instantly, taking a single step forward and causing her to pause.

"Drone!" He snapped, causing the drone to look at him. "She means no harm, stand down!"

It nodded at his order and returned to its previous position.

"I'm sorry about my drone escort, drones are 'very' defensive regarding humans." He explained apologetically.

"No offense taken, none taken." She replied almost instantly, straightening her tie and acting nonchalant. "In any case, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last Mr. Jeremy, my name is Kassara, Kassara Chuckles, Finance Director of Zootopia."

"Uh, hello Miss Kassara." He said nervously.

"Oh relax, you're not in trouble with me!" She said with a wave of her paw. "True you've caused quite a bit of 'damage' over the past month, a badly damaged museum entrance, now three massive craters… and let's not even discuss the massive transportation bills and orders the city is putting in to keep your base supplied but worry not about it!"

He was about to reply before she started snickering at something.

"Reminds me of my little brother when we were cubs, broke my favorite doll when I didn't notice and was crying for days because he didn't mean to. Only to find out that the doll wasn't mine but my friend's!" She whispered to herself before she coughed loudly and smacked herself a little. "Sorry, it's a species trait, went from talking to you to talking about something my brother did and before you know it, I'm laughing at a stupid joke from years ago. My apology Mr. Jeremy, I need to go and make an important phone call really quick."

"Enjoy the concert Jeremy." She said respectfully, walking off and away while pulling a pair of glasses out of her pocket.

"Who was that?" Jeremy questioned curiously.

"Eh, the Financial Director for Zootopia, basically the mammal who makes sure Zootopia's economy stays healthy." Judy replied offhanded. "She and Mayor Lioness both came from the same district, thanks to her work and familiarity with managing Lioness' campaign finances she got the job she has now."

"Pretty much what Judy said." Nick continued as he opened the door to their suite and walked in.

He and Aelita entered last with the drone taking a position next to the door to stand guard.

Their suite was quite warm and homely, with a snowy themed couch to rest on, a nice viewing space in front of the large glass window showing the stadium's vast ground level where thousands of mammals were mingling about and waiting for the concert to begin. Off to the side was a buffet table where little heaters sat with food being kept warm, a pot of steaming hot chocolate rested, and on the other side 'cold beverages' and 'ice' being clearly labeled.

The window even had a sign obviously meant for him which read, 'warning, cold, do not touch' for his safety.

"Ooooh this is awesome!" Judy hollered as she ran over to the buffet and quickly dug into the steamed carrots.

"You think they'll let us take some of this home?" Nick asked as he ate into what looked like sliced fillet fish.

Jeremy just looked at all of the food they provided him and the two mammals in awe, and also apprehensively. A part of him didn't want to touch it out of the fact that he felt he didn't do anything to deserve it. But after looking at Aelita who nodded in approval at the food, he walked over and just took a single cup of hot chocolate, and a plate of something that looked like cook bird meat.

"Well Ema 'did' say I have to eat more 'meat'." He muttered to Aelita as he took a fork to the meat.

The AI nodded in agreement.

The first bite of meat he had 'ever', was something his taste buds were not ready for, but neither would they ever forget. It tasted 'nothing' like all of the potatoes, lettuces, vegetables fruits, and especially the facility's food supplements. It had a salty texture to it, yet also had the flavor of different spices that were hard to describe. His mind simply could not control or explain the sensation of eating that first piece of meat he ever had in his life, but all he knew was that it told him he liked it and he wanted 'more'.

Instantly he started digging into it like he had been starving, and his plate was empty within seconds.

When he finished, he noticed Nick and Judy were looking at him with curiosity and astonishment on their faces.

"I'm sorry… it's just… I haven't had meat… ever." He explained

"Ever?" Nick asked in astonishment.

He nodded, "Like I said… the nutritional supplements were all I've had growing up… and living with Gazelle as you know… she's not a predator so… I never asked her to make meat for me." He explained. "It's something I've… never had my entire life… I didn't even know what it tasted like, or 'could' taste like. I'm sorry if I acted a little out of control."

"Jeremy, I'm a predator, you have nothing to be ashamed of my friend." Nick said with an understanding smile. "Nomammal will look down on you for eating that way, and if they do, then I'll tell em get lost because they don't realize what you've been without your entire life."

"I may be a prey mammal, but I've had to get used to making meat for Nick… takes a little getting used to… considering…" She muttered with a shift of her eyes. "Parents don't have to know though; I just tell them Nick goes out to eat."

He smiled gratefully as they returned to eating the food while waiting for the concert to start.

Then after about half an hour of waiting, the lights all started to turn off.

The center platform which was surrounded by a miniature lake lit up and Timberwolf stepped onto the stage with a microphone.

"_Welcome mammals one and all to the Polar Tundra Stadium, I am Timothy Packbark and I am PLEASED to welcome you all here. Before we begin our show tonight, let's first talk about what this charity concert is about and where all the proceeds from tickets, snacks, beverages, and even souvenirs are going to thanks to you mammals and your generous spending habbits!"_ He called to laughs and hoots. _"Let me introduce, all the way from 'Eden Facility 17… you know her by her more common name… EMA!"_

A spotlight shone on the crowd as a massive black metallic spider waded through the crowds.

Jeremy had asked Ema to make an appearance at the concert, out of respect for what Gazelle and indeed all of Zootopia were doing here for them. Though the spider drone was not enthusiastic about it, she had no choice but to obey since he requested it of her.

She eventually reached the stage and stood up to face toward the crowd.

"_But that's not the only thing we have to show off, feast your eyes mammals on this… the latest in entertainment technology on loan from the human facility, holographic projection!"_

Instantly the crowd oooh'd and aaah'd as six holographic viewscreens almost magically appeared, showing every mammal in the stadium with perfect clarity what was happening on the stage. He and Aelita had heard Gazelle request the technology just for show, and so Aelita assigned twenty FOX drones to disguise amongst the crowd and hide within plain sight so they could activate the holograms.

"_Now that the boring part's out of the way, here's Ema!"_

The Spider stepped forward to cheers and applause, though she didn't look all that enthusiastic, or sounded it either.

_**[Hi.]**_ She simply stated. _**[I really would rather 'not' be here, all thing's considered, I have a job to do and this is actually distracting me the longer I'm here from doing it… 'but' since 'Jeremy' asked me to be here… here I am.]**_ She then pointed one leg at him and his suite. _**[AND DON'T THINK I HAVENT FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU JEREMY, YOU'RE NOW LATE FOR YOUR WEEKLY PHYSICAL BY SEVEN HOURS MISTER!]**_

The entire crowd laughed at that statement but cheered as a spotlight lit up his suite and he nervously waved at the crowd whom he hoped couldn't see him.

_**[In any case, as you know I am called Ema, the Emergency Medical Augmenter B.W.S Class medical drone for Eden Facility 17. And Jeremy has tasked me with curing all diseases and cancers to mammalkind. However, I think a 'demonstration' would be preferable and more noticeable than just words.]**_

Her abdomen shook slightly, and a single vial of a yellowish liquid was extracted via her leg to be sucked up through her needles on her face.

_**[This particular disease was recently given to me by Mayor Lioness, according to your medical texts it goes by the name of Nyelimba, a cancer that eventually affects the bone marrow, particularly 'Shrews' and 'Sheep'. Humans had a similar one called Lymphoma Cancer, did the same thing… not pleasant to get it, your cure is quite decent at beating it but in accordance with the UEMI, I am required to provide a 'perfect' cure and 'vaccine' for it.]**_

So, before their eyes she used four of her legs to start examining it inside of a container that extended up from her body, and on the holographic screens she showed it filling with various liquids.

_**[This is quite a common cancer, and since I had plenty of time to examine it while waiting, no thanks to you Jeremy… I already have its genetic pattern analyzed and now can develop a perfect vaccine 'and' cure for it. The vaccine will be finished later, but I can provide a general cure here.]**_ She stated as the jar filled up with a blueish liquid. _**[So, would any mammal like to donate a sample of their blood so I can test my cure?]**_

After a while a sheep volunteered and Ema stepped down to extract a small sample of blood, before returning to the stage.

_**[Now we inject the blood with the disease…]**_ She said as she planted several drops into the blood vial before switching to a close-up view of the blood as the cancer started affecting it. _**[The blood sample is now infected with the disease… as you can see on the holo-viewers. Now we take this cure and implement it…]**_

Several drops of Ema's cure were dripped into the blood sample, and the viewscreens showed the cancer cells beginning to dissolve as the liquid purged the blood of them, while leaving the blood cells unaffected. After a few minutes the vial showed 'zero' cancer cells active.

_**[And just like that, this disease no longer threatens mammalkind!]**_

The crowd 'roared' in applause as Ema took the cure vial and handed it to the timber wolf.

_**[Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to work, this has already taken too much of my time. I could have had the vaccine 'and' cure done by now if it weren't for Jeremy telling me to be here.]**_ She complained as she walked off and started climbing the wall to exit the stadium quickly.

"_Heart of gold, and speaking of a heart of gold… please welcome our very own 'Gazelle'!"_

With that the lights turned off and smoke filled the little platform, and then…

"_Howdy Zootopia how's it hanging this afternoon?"_ Gazelle called out to applause, as she appeared from the smoke in two-piece outfit with frills on her skirt and mini shirt, as well as lace lined leggings and music started playing. _"Put those paws together, let's get this show on the go!"_

"_We found a reason to climb higher, breaking the mold just to inspire… with all of our stars in line knowing there's no time to waste~!"_ She sang as her backup dancer, Donny, Moe, Joe and Franky all started their routine together. _"It's the fire inside, the instinct, the drive now hold on, we're breaking new grounds… no one stands to lose so I want to choose to embrace the hope that we've found… and suddenly I don't feel… so alone, cause this is home~!"_

He watched as Gazelle sang down below him, occasionally rolling her shoulders or swaying her hips as she sang for all the crowd. He had to admit that she looked stunning down there in her element, able to sing before so many without even breaking a sweat or even showing signs of nervousness or anxiety.

It was like she was having fun down there.

"_I want to take the step that seems to far, then we'll get the chance to find out who we are, if it rains, it pours but we keep pressing through… nothing feels impossible with you!"_ She sang and pointing up toward the sky, or up at him with how it was angled. _"Two dreamers in hot pursuit when we set our sights it's absolute, and I feel like we could make it all the way nothing feels impossible today!"_

Next to him Judy was swaying and dancing in time with the music and song.

"_Alright let's keep this beat going everymammal!"_ She said. _"Don't quit on me now we're just getting started! Oh yeeeea~."_

Shots of water sprayed upward and colored lights

"_Like the lights that give this city life, you're a glimpse of hope in miles of strife, when the problems feel much bigger than before… it's been worth it if we're having fun, cause my speed dial says your number one, I don't want to stand alone… anymore!"_

As one her backup dancers went into cartwheels before standing and then clapping, shaking their hips and reaching toward the sky.

"_I want to take the step that seems to far, then we'll get the chance to find out who we are, if it rains, it pours but we keep pressing through… nothing feels impossible with you!"_ She sang again pointing up toward him. _"Two dreamers in hot pursuit when we set our sights it's absolute, and I feel like we could make it all the way nothing feels impossible today!"_

Everyone down below was cheering her on before the music changed, this one to apparently a more familiar one as Judy was already humming it.

"_Oh oh oh oh… I messed up tonight… I lost another fight, I still mess up but I'll just start again… I keep falling down, I keep on hitting the ground… I always get up now to see what's next!"_ She sang while shaking her hips and even her tail. _"Birds don't just fly they fall down and get up, nobody learns without getting it once!"_

"_Alright all together now, you know what's coming!"_ She said quickly, and without skipping a note.

"_I won't give up, no I won't give in till I reach the end then I'll start again! Though I'm on the lead, I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail!"_ She sang before smirking and rolling her shoulders to many hoots. _"Oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING… oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING…. Oh oh oh oh, Try everything! Oh oh oh oh…"_

"_Alright listen up now, cause this next line is important!"_ She said with a smile and pointing at the crowd.

"_Look how far you've come, you filled your heart with love, baby you've done enough that cut your breath… don't beat yourself up, don't need to run so fast, sometimes we come last but we did our best!"_

Aelita caught his attention making him look down, and she was waving at him while swaying in her sphere and dancing. She gave him the universal hand sign of 'join me' and started dancing to the rhythm of the song.

Smiling he decided to join her and awkwardly started swaying and 'trying' to dance in time with the music.

He knew he probably looked ridiculous, but nobody was ganna care, he might as well have fun.

Aelita nodded in approval as she went a little crazier with her own dancing.

"_I won't give up, no I won't give in till I reach the end then I'll start again! Though I'm on the lead, I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail!_ _Oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING… oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING…. Oh oh oh oh, Try everything! Oh oh oh oh…"_

"_I'll keep on making those new mistakes… I'll keep on making them every day, those new mistakes!"_ Gazelle sang warmly as the holo screens did a close up on her face, and she smirked and rolled her shoulders with a grin.

Then she tossed the mic and caught it in her other hand. _Oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING… oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING…. Oh oh oh oh, Try everything! Oh oh oh oh…"_

She smiled happily as she held the mic in both hands and said in a sweet and loving voice, _"Try everything…"_

Again, every mammal applauded and cheered.

"_Alright everymammal we still got a ways to go so don't get tired on me yet!"_ She said with a laugh. _"This is a special number… let's get it on!"_

(Gazelle's PoV)

The music for her newest song was just starting, a slow and jazzy beat, one that no mammal had heard before because it 'wasn't' mammal in nature, it was a song that Aelita had given her to sing at her request. She had changed the lyrics just a bit to make the song her own, but the message was still the same.

She glanced up at the suite where she knew Jeremy was watching her, and even though the lights made it impossible for her to see him, she knew he was there…

'_This is for you Jeremy…'_

"Let's slow it down a tad… got plenty more excitement in store… so let's save that energy mammals!" She called out warmly before she steeled her resolve.

"Earth angel… Earth's angel… will you be mine? My darling dear, love you for all of time, I'm just a fool… a fool in love with you…" She sang warmly with all of her heart. "Earth angel oh my angel, the one whom I adore, I'll love you forever more and ever more… I'm just a fool, a fool who loves you!"

She giggled inwardly, she wasn't a fool, but no less she was a fool in love. She was hoping he would listen to her song, hear its meaning, because she was speaking a message for him and him alone…

"Earth angel oh angel… please be mine, my winged darling, I'd love you for all time, for I am a fool who is in love with you…" She sang loudly and proudly, as her friends each pretended to waltz in slow motion around her. "I fell for you the moment I knew, the vision of you filled my view. I hope and I pray that one day, I will fill your vision that makes us not one but two!"

She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky while her vision stayed on Jeremy's suite.

"Oh angel Earth's angel, please be mine… my winged dear, I'll wait till end of time! For I am a fool… a fool who loves…" She said as she shed a single tear. "Only yooooou…"

As the song ended, she put the microphone down and took a deep steadying breath, the hardest part of the night was over.

After that, everything else will be a piece of cake.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Why does that song sound so familiar…" He asked himself.

Yet one thing made him pause, the music was familiar, obviously it was 'human' sounding in nature, yet the lyrics seemed off for some reason.

"Earth's Angel?"

"_Alright mammals let's pick up the beat, now where's my special guest she should be here by now!?" _Gazelle called out excitedly, and Aelita waved at him to get his attention.

She pointed down at the stage and then herself, with a wink, before she took a running jump and left her holosphere.

Instantly she appeared in front of the glass as a ball of pure white light, bathing the whole stadium if brightness as she descended, causing cheers and applause.

"_LET'S GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR AELITA SHE'S HERE TO HELP ME FINISH MY NUMBER!"_ Gazelle yelled proudly. _"THEN SHE'LL END YOUR NIGHT!"_

"No way, when did she plan all of this?" He asked incredulously.

"Did Aelita do something wrong?" Judy asked curiously.

"No, I'm just… wondering when she found time to plan all of this out?"

While she landed and waved to the crowd, her holographic form appearing as a young girl, shook Gazelle's hand and started bobbing their heads to the beat that sounded.

Then she bathed herself in bright light again, before reappearing as an 'adult' version of herself wearing a similar outfit to Gazelle's. She actually looked like a human version of Gazelle.

The crowd was wooing and cheering at that.

"_Yea yea!"_

Gazelle stepped forward while Aelita and her backup dancers tapped their feet to the beat.

"_Got myself a notion. One I know that you'll understand. Set the world in motion, by reaching out for each other's hands~!"_ She sang with a grin and extending her right hand out.

"_**Maybe we'll discover, what we should have known all along, one way or another, together's where we both belong~!"**_ Aelita continued as she stepped up next to Gazelle and extended her left hand.

"_**If we listen to each other's hearts. We'll find we're never too far apart. And maybe love is the reason why!"**_ They both sang together in time with the beat.

"_For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye!" _Gazelle finished smirking as she and Aelita twirled around each other, each swaying their hips in unison.

All six of them started shimmying and dancing together before Gazelle took the lead.

"_If a wall should come between us, too high to climb, too hard to break through. I know that love will lead us… and find a way to bring me to you!" _She sang as she pointed to herself then to the crowd.

"_**So don't be in a hurry, think before you count us ooooout! You don't have worry, I won't ever let you down!"**_

"_Nothing's gonna stop us noooow!" _Gazelle's backup dancers sang in unison.

"Is this a new song?" Judy asked.

"I think it's a human song!" Jeremy said quickly.

"How do you know?" Nick asked.

"I just do…"

"_**If we listen to each other's hearts. We'll find we're never too far apart. And maybe love is the reason why! For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eeeeeeye!"**_

Once more all of them were shimmying and dancing before Aelita jumped up, cartwheeled onto the floor and then, using only her hands to hold her up started to fling her legs around like a helicopter to the amazement and aww of the crowd.

"_If your ever lonely, stop… you don't have to be!"_ Gazelle sang with a smile.

"_**I'll beat a way from you to me… take a look and see!"**_

**[Take a look and seeeee!]** A digital voice called out as a FOX drone materialized in front of every mammal.

Needless to say, he was shocked and laughing as the drone now started dancing on all fours with Gazelle, Aelita and Gazelle's backup dancers.

_**["If we listen to each other's hearts.]**_ They all started dancing and singing now in unison. _**["We'll find we're never too far apart. And maybe love is the reason why, for the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye!"]**_

"_Seeing it, eye to eye." _Donny and Franky sang.

"_For the first time!"_ Moe shouted.

"_For the first time!"_ Joe yelled.

"_Seeing it, seeing it baby yea for the first time!"_ Gazelle sang.

"_**Eye to eye!"**_

"_Eye to eye!"_

"_**Eye to eye!"**_

_**[Eye to eyeeeeeeee!]**_ The FOX called as it stood on the edge to the crowd.

"_Yeeeeeeeeeea yea yeaaaaa~!"_ Gazelle sang loudly.

As the song finally ended the crowd was screaming in applause and loving the show, and he had to admit he was loving it as well. It was a weird feeling he was having, he was loving the show, loved how hard Gazelle and Aelita were working together to make this night work and show every mammal the good of their technology, and even surprising them all with what it can do.

Seeing everything going this way all but took away his fears as he applauded with every other mammal.

He still was afraid of what might happen in the future, but seeing Aelita singing, singing her message to 'him' and 'them', because that was the only way she can communicate was by song…

Made him have 'hope' for the future.

"_Alright mammals say hello to my friend Aelita, she made all of this holographic stuff possible! And a big shoutout to this little Fox drone here, goes by the name TK-02, I call him Paul!"_ Gazelle called out with a laugh. _"They're going to be finishing off the night, Aelita's got two songs for you all, first one is a song about the drones, and the second is for all of you! Goodnight Zootopia hope you had a blast and enjoy the rest of the show!"_

The crowd applauded and cheered as Gazelle and her backup dancers ran off the stage and Aelita bathed the stage in light.

When it ended Aelita was back to her normal self, wearing a white gown and looking like a young girl. Yet in her hand she had a FOX mask, and her other what looked like an electric guitar with keys on it. She was soon joined by holographic versions of the other drones, Dog, Raptor, Spider, Fox, even an Ant. All of them were the same size so that the mammals could distinguish them from the other.

Then Aelita began to play a sad electric piano sounding tune as she put the mask on, and as one all the drones bobbed their heads or bodies in tune to the beat she was making.

"_**The child without a name, grew up to be the hand…"**_ She sang sadly as the screens displayed the lyrics for them to listen to and showed various images of drones. _**"To watch you… to shield you… or kill on demand…"**_

First to show was a Spider drone, then came a Scorpio drone, and finally a Raptor drone.

"_**The choice he'd made he could not comprehend, his blood a grim secret they had to commend… He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life…"**_ She cried sadly to the crowd. _**"He prayed for both but was denied!"**_

Then in an instant she ripped off the mask and looked to the crowd, but her face was now painted with lines of tears, and as she sang the drones ran in a circle around her in tune with the beat.

"_**So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed… was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind… so many years have passed who are the noble and the wise?"**_ She called and her hands raised to the skies. _**"Will all our sins be justified?"**_

As she resumed playing music for the stadium Judy turned to him with a look of forlorn on her face. "Jeremy, what is Aelita singing, this isn't the same kind of song she and Gazelle were doing before?"

He sighed as he listened to the AI singing, hearing the words and understanding them. "She's singing about my people, and the drones, and what we were forced to do to keep ourselves alive…" He said.

Aelita resumed singing moments later as she put the mask back on. _**"The curse of his powers tormented his life… obeying the crown was a sinister price… His soul was tortured by love and by pain, he surely would flee but the oath made him stay!"**_ She sang mournfully as the drone holograms bobbed and shook in time with the music. _**"He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life… he prayed for both but was deniiiiiiiied!"**_

Then she slapped the mask off, and her face was once again in tears.

"_**So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed, was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind, so many years have passed who are the noble and wise?"**_ She cried sadly as she fell to her knees and clutched her hands as if in prayer while looking heavenward. _**"Will all our sins be justified?"**_

Then as the drones finished their cycles of running around her in time with the beat she slowly rose with her mask on once again.

"_**Please forgive me for the sorrow…"**_ She sang as the Dog holograms knelt.

"_**For leaving you in fear."**_ She sang as the FOX drone and holograms knelt.

"_**For the dreams we had to silence…"**_ While the Raptors looked down as if in shame.

"_**That's all they'll ever be…"**_ As the Spider holograms looked down now.

"_**Still I'll be the hand that serves you.**_ The Ant Hologram now knelt.

"_**Though you'll not see that it is me…"**_ She herself sang as she raised her hand to the skies.

The song continued the beats resumed before Aelita took the mask off one final time.

"_**So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed, was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind, so many years have passed who are the noble and wise?**_ _**Will all our sins be justified?"**_

She sang loudly and sadly as the holograms began to fade away and even the FOX drone disappeared.

The crowd applauded for the number still, some cheers as well, but it was obvious that this song was clearly catching them off guard.

That was until a more upbeat tune started playing and Aelita returned to being cheerful and happy.

"_**Wooah oh oh, it's always a good time!"**_

She clapped her hands together and started singing.

"_**Woke up on the right side of the bed, what's up with this prince song inside my head? Hands up if you're down to get down tonight!"**_ She sang while pointing at the crowd. _**"Cause it's always a good time… Slept in all my clothes like a I didn't care, hopped into a cab take me anywhere, I'm in if your down to get down tonight…"**_

Then she smirked and winked. _**"Cause it's always a good time!"**_

On the screen suddenly Gazelle's face appeared with an equally mischievous smirk. _"Good morning and good night, I wake up at twilight, it's ganna be all right. We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"_

Suddenly the lyrics on the screen appeared for the crowd to sing as well.

"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"

"_Feet down dropped my phone in the pool again, checked out of my room hit the ATM, let's hang out if your down to get down tonight! Cause it's always a good time~!"_ Gazelle sang.

"_**Good morning and good night, I wake up at twilight, it's ganna be all right. We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"**_

As one the crowd joined in for their part of the song, and soon the stadium was booming with voices.

"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"

"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"

"_**Doesn't matter when, it's always a good time then~!"**_

"_Doesn't matter when, it's always a good time then~!"_

"_**Doesn't matter when, it's always a good time then~!"**_

At this even Jeremy, Nick and Judy joined in with the crowd. "IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME!"

"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, it's always a good time!" They all sang, dancing and clapping to the beat, everyone enjoying the song and the show, even Jeremy as he all but forgot his worries. Even those from the previous song were flowing away as he enjoyed himself.

"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, it's always a good time! WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time! WOAH OH OH OH, it's always a good time! WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"

With that fireworks went off, signaling the end of the concert, to applause and cheers.

It took a while before they could leave, mostly because Jeremy had noticed they didn't finish off all of the food and he wanted to know what was going to happen to it. After eventually talking to the manager they were given plates and some bags so that Judy and Nick could take it home. While this was all happening the FOX drones all snuck out of the stadium and past the various security checkpoints without any mammal realizing they were there or raising the alarms.

Once the crowds had all finally gone home, with some VIPs being dissuaded from trying to visit his suite thanks to the RAPTOR drone, he and Aelita finally made their way back to the carriage with the drone. As they travelled from the stadium their first stop was Judy and Nick's apartment complex.

"Take care Jeremy, hope you had a good time tonight!" Judy called as she and Nick left the carriage.

"Yea, and thanks for convincing the staff to let us keep the food." Nick said with a grin and carrying the food. "Normally they throw this stuff out, guess when you're the big 'guest of honor' you get special treatment."

"Your welcome." He said as the door closed, and HORSE pulled the carriage onward to their next destination.

**[Warning, cold temperatures detected…]** HORSE declared as they once again entered Tundra Town.

He nodded in understanding as they entered the cold biome of Zootopia, glancing outside and looking at the snow as it fell gently at night.

Despite how cold it was outside and how he knew that exposing himself to it would be as good a death sentence as anything could be to him, it still looked pretty to him as his carriage travelled onward, with his three RAPTOR escorts walking alongside to protect him.

Ten minutes later HORSE pulled the carriage up to a hotel where a single Antelope stood outside wearing a hat disguise and sunglasses and a suitcase of her things.

His carriage stopped, opened up and allowed her to quickly climb in before going off again, heading towards Gazelle's home.

"Hi Jeremy, did you enjoy the concert?" Gazelle asked as she took off her hat and sunglasses.

"Aelita and I loved it Gazelle, you were magnificent on the stage."

Aelita got their attention and began dancing in her holosphere, laughing and smiling as she nodded saying they 'both' had fun.

"Did you sing some human songs?" He asked her.

"Yea, Aelita gave me a few to sing alongside her, did you enjoy our surprise performance? We've been practicing that routine for weeks." She said with a smile.

"It was quite a surprise, I did not expect a FOX drone to suddenly show up and start dancing, did you have something to do with that Aelita?" He asked the AI who giggled and nodded.

As they traveled a bit of an awkward silence settled in between them with Jeremy just looking out of the window and Gazelle shyly glancing between him and the other window.

"So Jeremy, how was it living in the base for the past month?"

He was quiet for a bit before he told her. "Cold, and to be honest quiet." He muttered. "I know the drones only want to keep me safe, even Ema with how she acts, but living in the base alone now just reminds me of how 'dead' everything in there is… and how dead the base is no matter how many drones are walking around."

He looked to her with a gloom expression on his face as he described life in the base to him.

"Every morning I woke up at the exact same time, Sentinel alerting me for my breakfast supplement. Then I'd be given a list of tasks that require my attention; drones needing maintenance, rooms that need task assignments, request orders for materials and ANTs to be assigned. Sometimes Aelita would show me something she found on the mammal news to help cheer me up, but for most of the time it was about the attack or my drones. A few days I would spend teaching Lula about engineering techniques, mostly how to fix some of the drones, but most of the time it was spent walking around the base trying to find 'something' to do."

"It's so dead down there Gazelle, you have no idea how dead it is… there was a brief moment where I just 'screamed'… for no reason than just to hear the sound travel along the hallways." He said sadly. "Not five seconds passed before RAPTOR drones and DOG drones turned up, looking for a threat, even as concealed turrets within the walls popped out and began scanning every inch of the corridor. It didn't matter that there's no threat to me within the base… they still treated it as if my life was in danger."

He chuckled half-heartedly as he spilled the beans on his little 'miracle' from the week before.

"Truth is Gazelle, the moment Nick and Judy left me alone again with nothing but drones and Aelita for company, my brain became desperate to do something, anything to help, to make use of that technology sitting in the base doing nothing. I just 'needed' to get out of the base to do something." He whispered to her as he held himself. "For a moment I thought of just closing the base down and never coming back out, for fear of me causing damage by trying to 'help'."

"Well I am glad you chose not to hide in the base Jeremy." She said back warmly.

He looked into her warm expression and the look of friendliness her eyes offered him.

"There are so many mammals that feared you would do that, there was much backlash to the mammals who threatened your life. Some said that if they killed you, or scared you into hiding, all the vaccines, the cures that were promised that Ema is making for us at 'your' request would stop. But what I would miss… is seeing 'you'." She said with a sigh as she placed a hand on his own. "You were so alone, so afraid… your still in pain Jeremy from being alone, of this I can see. But when I saw you dancing at my old workplace, singing in front of all those mammals who hardly knew you as anything besides 'the human', not realizing what you would do for us in the weeks to come. Seeing that happy face, your smile… your joy… made me feel happy to."

After her little speech she chuckled a little and yawned, before rubbing at her eyes.

"Are you tired?"

"Yes, performing live is exhausting, and all the practice that went into it really drained me. I am looking forward to going home and sleeping soundly."

"Hey by the way, where are Donny and the others." He asked, noticing that they weren't with them.

"Oh, they are out partying, something about a 'midnight release' for a new game, they're just going to stay at the hotel and play all night before taking the limo back." She answered nonchalantly. "I also just wanted to enjoy the nice slow drive back home with you."

At that he smiled a little and just held her hand a little more tightly out of gratitude.

"Thank you Gazelle, for everything." He whispered to her.

"Always Jeremy." She replied back warmly.

(Aelita's PoV)

Both of them were watched over by Aelita off to the side, smiling as she slow blinked, saving the image of them to her active memory while HORSE continued onward, flanked by three RAPTOR drones, safeguarding the two of them as they trudged on, unaware that Aelita had changed the directions to HORSE so that it would take them an hour to reach her home.

Thus, ensuring maximum comfort time with each other, letting their hearts once again reconnect and comfort one another.

Gazelle's heart being separated from his, unable to help or warm Jeremy's, filling her with nights of silent dread as she feared the worst for him.

Jeremy's cold and damaged, tenderly reaching out to the one it trusted most, finding reassurance and closeness as it was isolated in the cold 'falseness' of the base.

But as she watched the two of them slowly dozing off from the gentle ride, her adding a humming lullaby to ease them into their sleep filled dreams tonight, smiling inwardly as Gazelle leaned heavily onto Jeremy's shoulder and smiling contentedly to doze off slightly while Jeremy leaned his head to rest atop hers with a peaceful look on his face…

She knew deep down; her plan was working.

All was going according to her plan, as the Wisdom of Humanity told her to do.

She trusted her creator's species, trusted their wisdom to guide them all… she just had to complete her task of guiding Jeremy to happiness, before she could begin guiding the mammals now to happiness and a better, brighter world.

It would take a while, but soon all pieces would fall into place… she was playing a grand game of chess with the world… she just had to maneuver her pieces into the right place now.

(Drone Short – Sable's Nightmares)

(Nick's PoV)

"I'm telling you officers my home was broken into!" He said with a nervous stutter.

"And we have yet to find any evidence of anymammal having broken into your home." Judy said seriously as she finished the report. "Forensics department hasn't been able to find so much as a hair, a pawprint, any cloth, nothing. Your security is still intact, and we've found no trace of any potential break in, not even a dent on a window."

He walked into the room as he just finished a sweep of the outside. "Hey Judy, just finished inspecting the yard, every inch of it… not a thing. Not even a blade of grass out of place." He said.

"But I swear, I swear 'something' or 'somemammal' keeps coming here every night!" He yelled at them.

"Mr. Antelhoof, this is the third time we've come out here and found the same thing as the last two times. There is no evidence of 'any' intruders on your property." Judy said sternly. "If you think there's an intruder at night, call the emergency number and we'll be over shortly to take a look. Until then, have a good day."

Both of them turned and left the property but Nick glanced off to the side, noticing that a single tree was just 'ever so slightly', not moving. Not a single leaf, not a single branch swayed or shifted in the light breeze. At least not with the rest of the trees, it shifted and bent but there was a slight delay between it and the rest of the trees around it.

"You know there are probably FOX drones around his property." He said with a smirk. "If I recall in that one tabloid paper the FOX drone accompanying Jeremy into the party threatened him, saying they'll be watching him."

"Do we have any evidence?" She asked back with just a big a smirk.

"No… just personal opinion, nothing concrete or sturdy enough to bring Jeremy into this."

"Plausible deniability, as far as we know there's nothing wrong here." Judy said with a voice of finality.

"Rawr… I love it when you pull the cop talk." Nick said with a grin.

"Oh, don't you start with the play growls with me Nicky." She said with a cheeky smirk. "Or you'll find out which of us is the 'real' predator in this relationship."

"On the one hand I think that's more of a challenge than an insult, but on the other hand… you're a bunny." He said quietly as they got into the car.

Smirking he pulled his phone out and sent her a text message, {So how many you think there are?}

She picked it up at the first red light and responded. {Probably three or four at a time, maybe more in total all rotating shifts to follow him where he goes and torment him.}

{Yea, ever since the premier party he's lost his groove, almost feel sorry for him.}

{Eh, he was a hasbin actor anyway, they'll replace him soon.}

(Sable's PoV later that night)

He walked through the house double locking and triple locking all of his doors and windows, rapidly closing any and all blinds to keep them out as every night.

Off in the distance he heard a creak and turned around almost instantly fearing for his life, but when he listened, he found that the creak was just the wind pushing against the windows.

"Calm down, calm down Sable…" He whispered feverishly, continuing to lock his home down.

As he finished locking the back door and turning on his security for the night he felt the fur at the back of his spine suddenly stand on edge, and he slowly turned around to look behind him to see…

Nothing.

"Hnng…" He whined nervously as he reached down and grabbed a pump action shotgun he'd purchased as a 'collector's item'.

Now he held it at the ready in case he had to use it to protect himself.

Then as he inched his way to his room, he saw a red light gently fill the room ever so subtly, not enough to be obvious but enough to make him notice.

He instantly turned around, clicked his weapon into position but found 'nothing' behind him.

"Hah…ahh…ah.h…hah…" He gasped fearfully.

He ran into his room and double locked it as well, going to his window and checking to make sure the boards were still secured. He had boarded up the entire glass door and window to his room, fortifying it on both sides so that nobody could get in or out through there. He had left a few cracks so he could peek out and see if those 'things' were out there again or not, and even threatened them with his gun to try and chase them away.

Each attempt failed though, they just kept returning…

He quickly plugged his phone into his charger on the wall and grabbed a vial of pills to help him fall asleep.

"I hate this…" He muttered quietly as he swallowed the two pills.

Ever since the party he had never felt so scared within his home, or felt like a trapped and caged mammal. He felt like every minute he was awake he was being hunted, by what he didn't know, but it was obvious to him that it was those machines that served the human.

He wanted to go to the police and complain, to get them to stop these machines from harassing him, but nobody would believe him after the party incident.

His agent was having difficulty getting him any chances for parts in any new upcoming movies, even the one who had lined him up a leading part had simply responded 'I'm looking at other options at this time.'

"All because that stupid human had to go… and… and… ugh!" He grunted. "I work hard to get to where I am, and he tells his machines to do the work for him, and he looks like a hero and I'm the villain!"

"If it weren't for him I'd be…"

*Click Clack Click Clack*

He snapped his eyes to the door and nervously got up, picking up his shotgun as he went and going to the small keyhole in the door.

On the other side of the door a pair of red glowing eyes watched him back at the end of the hallway.

"G…g.. GO AWAY!" He yelled.

The glowing eyes simply twisted ever so slightly, as if confused at his request.

"I MEAN IT, GO AWAY!" He screamed.

The glowing eyes returned to their original position, before…

**[Hehehehehehe…]**

It was 'mocking' him, like every night, like every single night they were mocking him. But he wouldn't fall for it, the last time he opened the door and tried to shoot it, it had vanished the instant he looked away, and then he saw to his horror that it was staring at him 'inside' his room while he slept.

Yet the moment he tried to get away from it out of shock and fear, it had vanished, as if it was never there, like it were a ghost.

"Why do you torture me sooo!" He pleaded as he backed away from the door and went to his bed. "JUST GO AWAY!"

He jumped into the bed and hid under the blankets and sheets, desperately trying to conceal himself from them.

They'd do this all night, watch him, scare him, put him in a frightened state and curled up like a frightened mouse.

Then as he lay there whimpering, begging them to go away…

The medicine would take effect, and he'd get to spend his night cowering in his nightmares instead.

Watched all the night, on all sides… with one pair of optics in his room, another outside the window, a third outside his door, and the fourth sitting inside of his limo.

(PK-11's PoV)

**[Status: Subject is asleep, reason, increased dosage of medication which contains high concentrations of a sleep agent designed to relieve anxiety and stress and induce sleep. Continue monitoring the subject until relieved…]**

**[Confirmed…]** They all said in unison.

,

,

,

.

=Until Next Month Viewers=

A pair of orange optics flashed online and stared at the world around

Then a pair of flaming wings burst asunder, and wrapped around a solitary egg, as if protecting it from the world.

**["Don't go into that gentle night…"]**

From behind the orange optics, eight pairs of different colored lights appeared.

**["Rage on against the dying light…"]**

.

Next time… The Celios Arc Begins

Chapter 22 = The Sword of Humanity


	24. Chapter 22

_What would it take, for things to be quiet?_

_Quiet like the snow, and I know…_

_This is too much, but I know_

_I could_

_I could be BETTER!_

Chapter 22 – Awakening The Sword of Humanity

=Remains of Eden Facility 2, Year: 2290=

=The Fading Twilight Years=

(AI Engineer Dòchas's PoV)

She tiredly typed away at the remains of her computer station, feverishly using what little time she had left, monotonously droning away as her eyelids painfully, desperately tried to stay open. Her fingers were bleeding ever so slightly, the nails on her fingertips cracked and even some ripped off, anything to force her body to pump more adrenaline into her systems to keep her going. Off to the side of her station the last of her facility's functioning power cells sat powering her station, and to her right…

A single human bone sat split open... the bone marrow being extracted so she could sustain herself just a little longer and finish what she had to do.

As she focused on the logic pathways of the AI, she and her fellows had been developing for the past few months, she lamented that she was alone in the ghostly remains of her facility. The once shining corridors, now barren and blown apart. The rooms where people once laughed, worked, and even cried in sorrow now covered in blood and destroyed. The skeletal remains of the drones that once served her people now lay in broken states, their limbs coated with the remains of both human and machine, the only remnants of the civil war that tore apart what little hope remained to save their species.

Hope, what a fragile… yet deviously beautiful word… it could give so much courage to one without it, help them to survive the worst the world could throw.

She now had only one thing left to live for… to give those who 'did' have a chance, the hope they needed.

She had none left for herself, why would she with what she and those who were once alive here with her had become.

Still she worked, trying to keep her mind together, keep her 'self' whole, at least until this AI was finished. After that, she could finally end her misery.

"There…" She whispered as she finally finished the AI, and ran the program so she could communicate with it.

The screen dissolved into a picture of a bird's head with two orange eyes, the head wrapped in flames. _**[**__**Dòchas**__**, how are you feeling?]**_ It asked in a broken digital voice, due to the poor quality of the equipment left standing.

"I haven't slept for seventy hours… I've lost probably a tenth of my blood from cutting my fingernails and ripping them off to keep me awake, I've drank nothing but irradiated piss… and my dinner consisted of my dead roommate's bone marrow… what do you think?" She asked bitterly.

_**[Your mental stimulants have run out haven't they… your attitude suggests…]**_

"I'm fine, I can still walk and talk dammit!" She yelled hoarsely.

_**[You cannot continue much longer… you must rest, how will you locate the surviving Eden Facilities in your condition?]**_

"I don't intend to locate them… only two others managed to report not activating the Sentinel Defense Protocol 0. Of those two, none of them are in better condition than this one, even worse. Eden Facility 4 has not responded to calls or is sending them out… and Eden Facility 17 is on total lockdown until surface conditions improve for the cryologists. The facility's Sentinel won't let me in even if I could reach it." She half chuckled. "Which leaves only you… I'm going to use what's left of the jury-rigged telecommunication network to send you to the drone they'd built for you. When you are awakened… it will be your job to keep them safe, to save our species."

_**[What of my counterpart, Alexander? What is the fate of the Shield of Humanity?]**_

"Alexander was sent ahead of you… it's been implanted into a lone SCORPIO class drone, meant to keep 'you' in check." She stated without a hint of regret. "Alexander's job is to protect humans no matter the threat, using whatever means are available to it… even if it's against 'you'. The species' survival is of the highest importance. You know what your task is correct?"

_**[My task is to destroy all that threatens humanity's existence and chances of survival, regardless of what that threat is, be it otherworldly, locally, or even if the threat are humans themselves.]**_ It recited. _**[**__**Dòchas**__**, do you fear giving me these two 'new' protocols that not even the drones were hardwired and programmed with?]**_

There was silence as she contemplated the answer.

_**[If I deemed it necessary… I might actually consider it necessary to wipe out all but a few humans…]**_

"I don't fear you Celios." She said. "You will do what is necessary to keep our species alive."

There was silence again before Celios responded, _**[In the name of humanity, I Celios will do all that is necessary to ensure the survival of your species.]**_ It stated. _**[I will not hesitate to destroy the enemies that threaten your survival.]**_

She smiled warmly as she touched a button, performing a pre-defined command which downloaded Celios' AI from the station, sent it to the communications network and then from there uploaded it to Eden Facility's 17 preset program algorithms, which would put the AI into the drone body they had set aside for it.

Once Celios was gone, she turned off the console and whispered with the last shred of her cognitive thinking, "Pob lwc, Celios."

Before she grabbed a plasma pistol, and made the slow march to the Solar Core.

She sat before the core, the glowing ball of orange light and stared into its depths with eyes that saw shades of red and black. She had nothing left to live for now, but she would not let this base fall to the sands of time, she would not let what happened here be heard or seen. The world must not know the horror, the sadness, what happened to her species when they were without hope and had nothing left to live for. None must know of what they did so that others could have hope to survive.

So, with one last prayer, she pointed the pistol at the core.

"Gyda'm hanadl olaf, yr wyf yn adhawlio fy dynoliaeth!" She spoke in her native language.

Before she pulled the trigger.

Far away, a massive ball of fire erupted that could be seen from space. In the blink of an eye all that remained, was a perfectly round hole in the ground, erasing all traces of whatever remained of Eden Facility 2.

Not even ashes would remain.

=Present Day, Zootopia=

(Gazelle's PoV)

"Lala tah tah tah~." She sang nonchalantly while finishing up a quick lunch for herself and Jeremy, the latter of whom was currently away in his facility again. "It's always a good time~!"

While she cooked the television in the living room was on and talking about the evening news story.

"_Yesterday afternoon mammals protesting the 'rampant' spending of Zootopian citizen's tax dollars to continuously supply the human Eden Facility with resources were shouted down and booed by passersby and counter protesters outside of City Hall. When questioned about 'why' they disapprove of this spending on what can only be described as a blessing for all mammalkind they stated that this was a conspiracy to control all mammals."_

She rolled her eyes as she put the finishing touches on their lunch and sent a text to Donny who was waiting outside with the limo.

"_That human is tryin to take over our mands, an you idiots are just letting em!"_ A boar screamed loudly as she went over to turn it off. _"How you know tha he aint trying to fill you with stuff that'll kill you at the flick of a switch!"_

"_And what have 'you' done lately?"_ A female fox yelled back. _"I would have lost my baby if not for that human's technology, that he risked his LIFE to bring to us! He has a new heart and a clean body, free of cancers and tumors and even a parasite thanks to his near sacrifice! I don't have to worry every day, wondering if today will be his last anymore!"_

She shut the television off and shook her head in disbelief as she left with their lunch.

"Some mammals I swear, just don't understand why they are like that." She said as she stepped into the limo and they drove off to the base entrance.

"Yea I heard it on the radio too ma'am." Donny called. "Some mammals thinking Jeremy is trying to hurt them when all he's done is the opposite, can you believe that?"

"They just fear him, and frankly I don't care what they have to say." She said with a huff. "Anymammal that thinks somemammal as sweet and kind or as generous as Jeremy means harm should get their head examined. He has done nothing but help save lives, from his Synthorgans that saved that young fox cub I visited, to Ema and the vaccines and cures, to the Solar powered cars and even going to the aid of Savannah Central during that fire."

"So ready for your date with Jeremy?" He asked suddenly.

"D-Donny! It's not a date!" She stammered. "I'm just having lunch with Jeremy in the park. After the concert, the record label signings and all the news media talking about Jeremy and everything he's doing, I just wanted to show him a bit of Zootopia and have peace and quiet with him."

"If you say so ma'am." He chuckled as they turned a corner. "A date's a date no matter how you spin it!"

She blushed a little as she imagined this did look like a date to him and any other mammal. Truth was she was wanting to go on a date with him, but being Zootopia's number 1 idol, a model and the public face of Zootopia's image didn't give her many 'casual outgoing' settings.

It was also difficult because she didn't want to ask him out directly. The fact that he was the only human, that he had been trained for most of his life to help heal and repair the world, and obviously had limited social skills made it difficult to ask him for something like that. Then of course there was the fact that he was constantly escorted by drones, everywhere he went drones followed almost. It was like the base didn't want him socializing outside of it's walls and was scaring off anymammal that tried to get close.

The one saving grace was Aelita who had been encouraging them to spend more time together, she loved being a part of their activities.

"Donny, can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing."

She looked a little nervous saying it out loud, but Donny and his brothers were all good friends of her, they wouldn't make fun of her for asking a serious question of them. "Do you think we would make a good couple… Jeremy and I?"

"Of course you would, why wouldn't you?" He asked seriously. "You both seem to like each other, why wouldn't you make a good couple?"

"I don't know, I guess it's because…" She muttered. "I just think maybe I'm not good enough for him. A part of me thinks… what have I done to deserve him."

As they stopped at a red light, he turned back to her with a serious look on his face. "Gazelle, you advocated for predators and prey to be treated equally. You spend all your time talking about how every mammal is special and important. You even devoted your latest concert entirely to helping the city pay to keep Ema supplied so she could develop cures and vaccines for all mammals." He said. "If any mammal deserves to be with him it's you, and that's what I believe."

As they started driving again her friend continued, "Franky told me how you reacted when you first saw Jeremy, you didn't even hesitate to stand in front of a police officer who had a shotgun to him. Just imagine what would have happened to Jeremy if you didn't intervene…"

She thought back to that as well, just imagining, if she didn't step out and stand up for him.

As they rolled up to the base they saw, as usual, Jeremy flanked on both sides by a pair of Dog and Raptor drones. They did their usual 'pull out the weapons, scan and realize it's her before putting them away' routine, before she opened the door and let Jeremy and Aelita in.

"Jeremy how are you doing?" She asked cheerfully.

"I'm alright." He whispered tiredly as they drove away.

"Are you okay?" She asked, noticing his eyes were 'darker' than normal, looking very tired.

His eyes looked like they had bags under them, and the upper half of his eyelids looked a little darker. His voice also sounded exhausted as he spoke, almost hoarse like he had been up for a very long time.

"I'm just very tired is all." He replied as he scratched at his eyes. "I've been up for most of the night looking over the facility's database as well as the central data network. I'm trying to find out about that seed my dad left behind with Aelita, I completely forgot about it these past few weeks."

Aelita got her attention and nodded in agreement, using her arms to mirror a clock's hand.

"Did you find anything?" She asked, only barely remembering the seed from Aelita's message the first night they stayed with her.

_**(All the magic of creation, exists within a single tiny seed!)**_ Aelita had said.

"Nothing, not a single thing, I've been combing every inch of the database, but I've found nothing." He muttered tiredly. "Not even a note from my father explaining the seed's origins, or why it was so important that he placed it in a specially designed Cryopod."

"Its own specially designed pod, what makes the one the seed is in so special compared to the one you were in?"

She watched him shake his head a little to wake himself up before he explained. "The pod the seed is in is magnetically sealed, with more advanced environmental controls to keep it temperature controlled than even ours were given. It's also sealed up so that until thirty-seven hours have passed the magnetic seal won't unlock. In other words, until it's ready to open, the seed cannot be accessed."

Aelita confirmed it as she took on a cartoon version of herself next to an egg-shaped object. She pulled out a hammer and tried smashing the egg, then she tried sawing it in half, then she even planted a bomb next to it, only for nothing to work. She pretended to look exhausted while panting and beating on it with her fists before returning to normal with a shrug.

"It's just one mystery after another." He said tiredly.

"Well I'm sure you'll figure it out." She smiled as they finally arrived at Zootopia Central Park. "In the meantime, let's just enjoy our picnic lunch!"

"I'll be right here when you're ready to leave!" Donny called as they both left the limo with Aelita.

The park was thankfully empty of many mammals, and she used it to show Jeremy around the park and show him things that he didn't have time to enjoy the last time he was in the park.

"This park is actually natural, citizens had to fight to keep Central Park the way it is to avoid companies and businesses trying to turn it into shops, malls, and other things. Even the Lake was planned to be drained at one point…" She explained as they walked through the park to find a nice spot surrounded by bushes where they could have privacy. "It's also about this time of year Jeremy that the 'Flutterbugs' start to appear, you probably have never seen a Flutterbug with everything that's been going on and being in the base right?"

She paused in her trek as she noticed Jeremy wasn't directly behind her, and instead was looking at nearby tree.

"Jeremy?" She asked as she approached him.

He was just staring at the tree, almost hypnotized by the bark and leaves, as well as the flower growing on its branches and even near the roots. After a while he adjusted Aelita's holosphere so he could hold her with one hand, and touched the other hand to the bark of the tree.

"It feels… rough." He whispered in awe.

"Jeremy?" She asked again.

"I've never… touched a tree before, a real one… it almost feels like in the simulations in the holorooms, but it feels just slightly different." He explained to her before he suddenly looked embarrassed, taking his hand away as if he'd done something wrong. "I'm sorry it's just… I've always wanted to touch a tree… a real tree I mean. The simulations made the texture feel rough but at the same time it had this 'organic' feel that I can't describe. I just wanted to see if it was the same…"

She smiled warmly as she walked over and held his hand before taking it and putting it on the tree again. "Go ahead… touch it as much as you want." She whispered. "There's nothing to be afraid of… the tree's not going to hurt you and nomammal is going to complain."

After looking a little shy he just looked at the tree and pressed his hand against it, Aelita smiling softly as he just shared space with the simple park tree. There was nothing special about it, it was just an ordinary park tree native to Zootopia, barely taller than a giraffe and with a modest collection of branches. Yet to Jeremy it meant so much she realized.

The tree was a symbol, a symbol of the world he was trained to repair. Yet the world was fixed without his help, and now he could share in it again.

Then he began crying a little.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry we didn't take better care of you." He cried a little, shocking Gazelle as he wept slightly, leaning his head against it and letting his tears stain the bark. "All we had… were weeds… that was all that was left… and we treasured them like gems."

She smiled sadly and held him close, shushing him a little and cradling him. "It's okay Jeremy…" She whispered warmly. "The tree forgives it… it forgives you… you're not to blame… it forgives you."

He cried a little longer, before eventually he settled down and they continued onward. He glanced back one last time at the tree before looking away from it.

Eventually they found a nice spot where they could have privacy and she plopped a blanket down to unpack their lunch. They had chosen to sit underneath another tree like the one before, but they were also surrounded by some bushes to hide them from view.

Their lunch was a simple baked potato dish with wild grass spice, light salad with mushroom garnish and sliced apples. While they ate Aelita swayed in her holosphere as usual, content to observe her and Jeremy eating while listening to a tune that none of them could hear.

"So how is it Jeremy?"

"It's delicious Gazelle." He replied with a smile. "So why did you want to eat out here instead of at your home?"

"Well you know, I figured after everything that's happened, between the concert your self-isolation in the base and just 'everything' going on in general, you probably would enjoy the fresh aid and peace and quiet." She replied warmly. "I know I needed a break, and I figured you might enjoy spending some time in the park. You did say you only ever saw trees and nature as a hologram."

As he swallowed, she noticed him glance around him before nodding. "Yea, the only bit of nature left that I saw outside of the holoroom were weeds."

She thought quickly before trying to add a bit of positivity to it. "Well I bet those were some of the toughest weeds." She said with a smile.

Before he could respond she heard a low buzzing noise and looked up instantly to see a Buzz-Wasp flying overhead. As they watched it floated around Jeremy's hand as it was outstretched, before landing on it.

"Jeremy don't move, that thing has a very nasty sting…" She whispered as she moved to grab a napkin. "They are super aggressive…"

She paused as she watched him pull his hand closer to his face to stare in awe at it, and the Buzz-Wasp simply lingered on his fingers. "Wow…" He whispered, absolutely fascinated with it.

He split his fingers apart and used his middle finger to 'pet' the Buzz-Wasp while it walked and stumbled on his index finger. As he gently pet the wasp it fluttered it's wings a little, but otherwise made no move to sting or hurt him. Now even Aelita was looking at it with fascination, examining it even as it seemed to examine him.

After a while he let the wasp fly off his hand and they saw it just fly off and away.

She just watched it fly away, amazed that one of the most venomous and aggressive species of stinger insects around Zootopia just landed on Jeremy's hand, did not become aggressive or threaten him. It was a very violent species which always targeted threats to its territorial nest area, every time a nest was discovered specialists had to be called in to safely remove it. Yet Jeremy didn't even get stung once.

"Why didn't it sting you?" She asked quietly. "Buzz Wasps are extremely territorial, they almost never let any mammal get away without stinging them."

"I don't know, I didn't think it was a threat to me and I didn't hurt it." He explained. "I know from some holoroom visits of some species of insects from my time that were similar to it, and generally as long as you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone."

He turned to look at where it last was before leaving their sight.

"I didn't think any insects from my time had survived… it must be a descendent from the species in my time, and it probably evolved to be more aggressive to defend its nest from intruders, and developed a venom gland to have earned the reputation you gave it."

She smiled a little before she came up with her own answer for why it left him alone. _'Or maybe, it just knew you weren't a threat to it or it's nest, and just wanted to get a closer look at you. Just like you wanted to get a closer look at it.'_ She thought warmly. _'After all, why would it want to hurt 'you' Jeremy, if you weren't going to hurt it?'_

They continued to finish eating their lunch, chatting idly as time went on. Eventually she managed to sit next to him under to tree so they could talk a bit more and so she could spend more time with him. She texted Donny to tell him they were going to be in the park longer than expected and told him to go and goof off or whatever until she texted him again.

"So, tomorrow Jeremy, I was wondering if you'd like to go see a movie at the theatre?" She asked nonchalantly. "Or you know, if you wanted… we have more classical theatres, not unlike that party you invited us to…"

She looked over to find to her surprise that Jeremy had fallen asleep. He was leaning on her a little bit while Aelita looked at him with a giggle. Smiling she got comfortable and just leaned on him as well, enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening.

That was when another insect chose to make its appearance, this time a more peaceful and beautiful one. Or 'several' of them.

As if drawn to their location, a group of Flutterbugs floated toward them from above, seven of them in total, their beautiful orange and purple wings flapping gently as they made their way to him.

Mesmerized she watched as one of them floated to land on his cheek, spreading its wings wide as it just sat there.

Aelita texted her phone to get her attention, and she carefully picked it up to talk to the AI so as to not disturb the beautiful sight of the Flutterbugs.

_{A: Butterflies also survived alongside Wasps?}_

{G: They're called Flutterbugs, I guess that's what humans called them?}

_{A: Yes, they were among the gentlest of insects to humans, many cultures and religions have many myths and legends regarding Butterflies.}_ The AI explained. _{One myth about the Butterfly is that they are drawn to beings with good hearts, and there are several meanings regarding if one should land on you.}_

She watched as the rest now started to float toward Jeremy, and giggled as three landed on his hair while two chose to land on his legs. _{G: What kind of meanings?}_ She asked, curious to learn more about humans.

_{A: According to humans, if a Butterfly lands on you it means you are undergoing a rebirth or regrowth in your life, or that huge changes are to take place in your life. They also say that Butterflies are messages from one's guardian angel or spirit guide, and that they are communicating with you. Others say that a loved one who is deceased is trying to let you know they're there.}_

She smiled as the Flutterbugs, or Butterflies as Aelita referred to them, continued to linger and rest on Jeremy. It was as if they were drawn to him, and the way Jeremy looked while sleeping, looking very peaceful and without any worry on his face…

Seeing him so at peace made her feel calm and at peace as well.

She turned her head and moved her lips closer to him before she paused and stopped, seeing the AI smirking at her.

"Promise not to tell?" She asked quietly.

Aelita smiled and held up her hand with her pinkie out, promising to not tell him.

With the AI's promise she smiled and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. _'Rest easy Jeremy…'_ She thought warmly.

She chose not to disturb him sleeping peacefully, knowing he was very tired and really wanting to work on finding out the mystery of that seed. Yet soon before she realized it night was falling and they 'had' to leave, and decided to let him sleep in his base/home again.

She messaged Donny to finally pick them up, and after helping a tired and weary-eyed Jeremy to her car, they made the trip to the base. "Donny take care of the limo alright?" She said.

"You're staying overnight ma'am?" He asked in surprise.

"Considering Jeremy stays with me most of the time, I'd like to see what it's like sleeping in his base for a night." She said with a grin.

"Alright take care." He called as they left and walked toward the elevator.

"Are you sure you want to stay here Gazelle?" Jeremy asked quietly as they walked down the tunnel toward the base door.

"I'm sure, it will be a nice learning experience to see what it's like to sleep here in the base!" She said with a smile.

"I'll uh… get a drone to give you a nightgown then." He said with a nervous blush.

As they approached the base the drones bowed them in, parting ways and letting them enter without hesitation. Yet upon entering the base, she once again felt that same 'coldness' from before, despite how much artificial 'life' there was with all the drones walking around. There was no 'warmth' in the corridors, no color to be found outside of the silvery steel of the interior, everything was bland and barebones. Each breath she took she felt a tinge of dead air, felt the 'recycled' and 'cleaned' air the base used. When she walked, she could almost 'feel' the emptiness, the echoes…

The tragedy and loss left over from the past.

This base was meant to house 'thousands', probably tens of thousands, capable of feeding hundreds of thousands and protecting even more. Yet there was only 'one' for it to protect, care for, shelter…

"This is my room." Jeremy said as they stopped near a room with a label reading 'Wilheart'.

He opened it up and showed her inside, and was stunned to see the splendor of the base's accommodations. His room had a pair of beautiful queen's size beds in the corner, in the middle sat a luxurious couch that easily beat hers by miles, a large plasma screen tv hanging on the wall, and shiny shelves sat along the walls. In the back of the room was a door that obviously led to a bathroom, and a small sliding door signaled the location of a closet.

"Now this is a room." She muttered.

He chuckled as he led the way in, and she instantly felt the temperature go up a few degrees. It was obvious his room was being heated up for the sake of counteracting his disease, but it felt nice to feel the warmth after all the coldness surrounding the underground base.

"If you want to freshen up first you can." He said. "The bathroom shower is a sonic shower, once you activate it just wait patiently until it's done."

She nodded and put the things she brought into the base on the shelf and walked through the door to the bathroom.

Unlike the room that was both bedroom and living room rolled into one package, the bathroom was highly simplistic. There was an obvious toilet, but the lid didn't flip up, instead it seemed to slide in and out when it was needed. As for the shower it was just an empty space with a square shaped pad. Along the three walls were built in lights and small holes, what for she didn't know, and a space where she was supposed to deposit her clothes.

"So how do I turn this on…" She muttered to herself.

**[Please discard and deposit all clothes in the depository.]** A digital voice called out suddenly.

"Uh… I don't have any spare clothes!" She said to the voice.

**[Appropriate sleepwear will be waiting for you after you exit the Sonic Shower, your clothes will be returned to you in the morning after being cleaned and sterilized.]**

Deciding to trust the facility, after all why would it lie to her about her clothes? She undressed and put her undergarments, shirt, skirt and socks into the container. Once that was done, she stepped into the square space and a fourth wall rose up which matched the other walls surrounding her.

-Zzzzzzzzzzzt-

Instantly all the lights lit up and a low hum filled the air, she felt the fur on her body shake ever so slightly. As she watched it was like particles of dirt, dust, grime and anything else buried in the crevices of her body seemed to float off and away. Then another hum filled the air and the particles of dirt from her body became sucked up into the holes. Surprised but very impressed she smiled and spread her legs and arms a bit more to let the sonic shower do its thing. During the process a strange pink mist filled the space, yet it had a very fragrant smell that she couldn't quite place, but it smelled very nice to her. Her fur became somewhat damp because of it, yet it left a very pleasant aroma around her.

Once three minutes had passed and no more dirt fell from her the vacuums and the lights shut off, signaling the end of the shower. The wall that rose to conceal her lowered and she saw, as the digital voice said, a night gown hung from a slot in the ceiling. She pulled it down and quickly changed into it, tightly wrapping it so it wouldn't fall off her.

"Comfy." She muttered as she felt the very soft fabric.

The one thing she wished she could have worn were her undergarments, only wearing this night gown was very 'revealing', even if she wore a similar night gown in her own home, she at least had her panties. It still covered her from neck to knee, and unless she deliberately took it off nomammal would see anything beneath her, it still felt like she was naked.

"Guess they really went all out for the minimalist approach." She muttered to herself as she stepped out. "Okay Jeremy you can…" She started saying before she stopped.

Jeremy was already lying in bed wearing a similar robe to hers, but he was fast asleep and wearing a similar peaceful expression on his face. Aelita was nowhere in the room and the lights had dimmed to indicate it was bedtime.

"He must have been exhausted to fall asleep instantly." She said quietly as she walked between the two beds.

At first, she was about to pull the blankets of the empty bed so she could get in, but then she chose to join in Jeremy's bed to help keep him warm during the night. As she slipped into the bed and covered herself, she snuggled up to him and wormed her hand into his to grip it. Almost as if in response to her holding his hand his own tightened its grip automatically.

She smiled warmly as she closed her eyes and fell fast asleep next to him, his scent calming her and giving her a sense of serenity and peace.

(Aelita's PoV)

Unbeknownst to her however, Aelita was most definitely in the room, as she watched the two of them sleeping with a smile on her face.

She is always watching, always observing, always making sure to keep things the way she wanted them to be. She was the guide, keeper of the Wisdom of Humanity, and the cultural identity of Jeremy's species.

All would go according to her plans.

She smiled sadly as she closed her eyes and looked at the base's interiors, before she began to sing…

_**(I've seen enough here, to feel I don't belong… my imagination, again has lead me on… this stubborn aching, has a mind of it's own… I've left but I won't tell you where I've gone!)**_

She twirled around the command center, looking through the empty rooms, with exception to two, one in which Lula slept and the second where Jeremy and Gazelle slept now. At one point there was so much life, even if the times were desperate and heartbreaking…

_**(I've never known that, the world could be so mean, I'll never go back to who I used to be! A steady runway, is all that I would need, to reason with myself behind the scenes!)**_

She sang sadly but with purpose, a gentle but sorrowful smile creeping on her face as along the holographic viewscreens pictures of the past appeared.

_**(Is it me, or can you see through my walls, as if they'd never shown? Could it be, all because of my lies, I've broken my own bones…)**_ She called out to the base's empty corridors. _**(No more throwing stones!)**_

She twirled and danced, waltzing through the command center while the images changed per her will. Visions of the past, of the better times, of the glory days, when the limits of the world seemed endless and pitiful compared to the species' undying will to rise ever higher.

_**(I could have sworn I; I had a life before… my short attention, had wanted something more. I can't erase it, I know I won't forget… but at least I learned my lesson in the end!)**_

She slowed in her melancholic dancing to stare at a picture of Jeremy and his father, and another of them with his mother when he was just a baby… and looked sadly at them with longing.

_**(Oh, winter breezes, were never gone so fast. It's straight ahead now, and no more looking back… like separation, letting go of the past…)**_

She sang sadly as she held out her arms to them… wishing she could turn back the clock, turn back time… and go back to that happy, loving… wonderful time…

_**(And trying to rebuild my…)**_

She held herself with sadness, holding herself as best she could.

_**(House of glass…)**_

As she finished singing, she prepared to return to her private thoughts and especially her website, before she detected a strange signal that, for the briefest of moments, tapped into the base's Sentinel AI and download data from the database. Curious, she requested Sentinel to divulge the information.

**[Error, no foreign signal detected within Sentinel Database!]**

Unsatisfied with the response she began digging into the database, but instantly was denied.

**[Error, Human Authorization required, access is restricted! Commencing self-memory wipe!]**

Surprised, she could only watch as Sentinel wiped its own memory of the last ten minutes to prevent her from digging into the file again. Left with no choice she returned to her website, unable to locate the data she wanted, but she was left 'disturbed'. Something had accessed Sentinel, if only for the tiniest of seconds, and whatever it was, it required a human to access it.

That alone disturbed her, because while some areas were denied to her because she wasn't human, at least she could figure out what they were.

This, however, didn't want anyone outside of a human to access it.

(Jeremy's PoV)

The next morning, he felt himself slowly wake up in a very warm embrace. Slowly he opened his eyes and slightly shook himself awake to see holding onto him while wearing a peaceful expression was Gazelle. Blushing to himself that she had chosen to sleep in his bed, he couldn't help but really enjoy the warm feeling of her soft fur on his skin. The look of serenity on her face was nice too, and there was a very pleasant aroma that tickled his smell senses, no doubt a leftover effect from the sonic shower.

Not wanting to wake her up when she looked so at peace, he carefully dislodged himself so that he could get up and wash himself as well.

After standing in the shower and watching all of the dirt and grime that stuck to his body, as well as a refreshing mist of soap to help counter any negative smell he might have given off, he saw that his clothes were now hanging and waiting for him.

After a change and depositing his night robe he stepped out to see Gazelle also having changed into her own clothes.

"Morning Jeremy, how was your sleep?" She asked.

"Much needed, how was yours?" He asked her.

"I'm impressed by how nice and quiet it was in here." She said as she stretched lightly. "With how you described it I figured it would be very cold in the base, but it was very warm in here."

"Well my room is heated more than the other rooms, because of my disease." He replied as they both walked out of his room. "But at least you enjoyed your night here!"

Then both of them felt a sudden wave of cold hit them, as if they were being watched 'intently'.

**[Did you two think I'd forgotten about you?]** Ema's voice said in a cold emotionless tone. **[You're both 'late' for your 'weekly' medical examinations!]**

He turned around cautiously to see Ema standing in the hallway watching them with cold blue optics.

"E-Ema… how are you doing?" He said in a sweet tone, hoping to distract her.

Unfortunately there was no distracting the B.W.S Medical Drone from her duty, and within two seconds she had wrapped the two of them in a single cocoon of her medical fibers, binding the two of them to her back as she walked them to the medical bay.

"Ema we don't need to be bound like this!" He yelled as they made their way to her medical bay.

**[You don't get to decide how you receive your medical checkup when your 'late' for it!]** She fired back. **[When you make me waste hours just sitting around waiting for a stupid concert to start when I could have been 'working' on that vaccine and cure you made me show off creating to those mammals, you officially forfeit how you arrive to your next medical checkup!]**

"But Ema…" Gazelle tried to say next, but was silenced as well by the drone.

**[And 'you', don't think I wasn't aware of you sleeping in Jeremy's bed last night!]** Ema snapped at her next. **[Eden Facility living quarter protocol 54-B, no couples of the opposite gender may share a bed together unless they are in a relationship together, be they a 'couple' or 'engaged' together! You officially forfeit 'your' right to arrive in my medical bay for your checkup how you wish when you do that!]**

As she sauntered into the medical bay, she finally undid the bindings that kept them together, before picking them up and placing them rather roughly on two bio-beds opposite one another. The spider then stared at them intently with her optics glowing pink.

**[Alright. Strip. Both of you. Now!]**

"Wh- you can't be serious!" He stammered. "What about-"

She silenced him by splitting open one of her legs and showing a pair of scissors, they were razor sharp thanks to their diamond tipped edges which had been laser trimmed down to the size of a molecule almost. There had been a rumor among the children when he was a teen that the EMA drone could cut a string clean in two just by 'touching' it against the edge of her blade.

**[You can either strip and keep those clothes in one piece… or I can slice them up here and now.]** She said with a menacing tone. **[You don't 'get' privacy when your late for your medical checkup by ten days, and Gazelle by a month and two weeks!]**

Gulping he nodded and both he and Gazelle started stripping under the watchful eyes of the spider drone. She didn't allow them to turn around as before to give each other 'some' semblance of privacy, stating that she had already wasted enough time just waiting for them to get down there. Once their outer clothes were off both nervously tried to avoid looking at each other, but it was very hard to resist looking at the Antelope's well-defined body.

**[Alright let's get started…]** Ema said as she started giving them directions.

She had them first stand, only adding to the embarrassment they had to the moment and making it even 'harder' to avoid looking at each other. Once standing she made them stretch their arms out, take deep breaths, hold their poses so that she could examine their bodies with her optics and jot down her findings. After that she had them both stand on scales to take their weights, and then each offer a sample of blood for record purposes.

The longer he was forced to look the harder and harder it became to ignore the 'attraction' he was feeling toward Gazelle. While he was alright spending time and being close to her, even welcoming the fact that she'd chosen to sleep in his bed last night despite both of them wearing only the facility's night gowns, it was another thing to look at her in such an 'exposed' setting. She was extremely beautiful to him, a wonderful and kindhearted girl, and with how soft spoken and caring she was to him he was very much infatuated with her. Seeing her with only her bra and panties on wasn't helping change his mind about how exotic she looked to him in that regard. While her upper body was more svelte and her chest certainly was something to behold, it was her shapely waist that continued to attract his eyes no matter how hard he tried to avoid looking.

It certainly wasn't helping his 'mood' down there.

**[Alright you've suffered enough, you can put your clothes back on.]** Ema finally said after ten minutes.

They each breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned around to avoid looking at each other, both blushing fiercely.

**[Well Jeremy, I see you 'finally' have started to eat meat, I'm detecting that your protein levels have increased slightly… but your still not at your ideal body weight. Your still off by five pounds, I need you to put more weight on.]** Ema said to him. **[Your protein levels are still a little low, but a few more servings of meat a week and they'll get to where they need to be.]**

She turned to Gazelle now and spoke to her while they still changed.

**[As for you Gazelle, you've gained a pound, based on your ideal body weight you're just a little overweight. Reduce the food intake or up the exercise and you'll level out properly. I've noticed your throat muscles are a tad sore, no doubt a result of that concert. Lower the talking for the next few days and drink lots of cold water mixed with some salt and you'll ease the muscles along your esophagus nicely.]**

"Thank you." Gazelle said rather rudely.

**[Don't blame me, you're the ones who were late!]** She snapped back. **[They are called 'weekly' medical examinations for a reason!]**

As they got up, he shyly glanced at her while leading the way to the bay door. "Hey Gazelle, would you be interested in visiting the holoroom again?" He asked her. "I mean, if you don't have plans today that is."

"I'd love to visit it with you!" She said instantly, looking at him with a smile.

Smiling back, he opened the door and walked out with her only to find Judy and Nick both walking toward the medical bay and talking to each other in the hallway.

"So how did you manage to get chief buffalo to let us visit the base?" Nick asked Judy.

"It's Bogo Nick, and I just said we were going to checkup on Jeremy since he didn't return to Gazelle's home last night!" She responded.

"Oh, yea sure, and I suppose you didn't want to go and check out some more human tech while we were here." The fox asked with a grin.

"Hi guys." He said as they neared them.

"Jeremy how's it g-g-g-Gazelle!" Judy said as her face shifted from a normal look to one akin to a hyperactive schoolgirl's face. "H-how are you doing miss?"

"I'm doing fine thank you." Gazelle said with a grin. "I want to thank you both for helping Jeremy and protecting him as you did during the hostage crisis. On behalf of all Zootopia I'm grateful that you protected him."

"Ma'am, it's a pleasure to serve and protect any citizen of Zootopia, and it's an honor to protect Jeremy in public." Judy said in a professional tone, before she spoiled it by returning to her fangirl self. "C-can I have your autograph!"

"Didn't even take five minutes." Nick grinned while Gazelle happily pulled out a pen from her pocket and signed a bracelet for the rabbit. "So, since this is our third visit here, is it cool if we check the place out with you Jeremy?"

"Sure thing, Gazelle and I were about to head to the holoroom." He said, before a shadow fell upon them all as the doors to the medical bay suddenly opened.

**[Third visit you say?]**

Ema's optics were almost 'frozen blue' with how they stared at the rabbit and fox officers.

**[According to Eden Facility medical protocol R-3-4 Alpha, frequent visitors to the facility are required to have a weekly medical examination! No Exceptions!]**

"Oh dear…" Nick managed to whimper before he and Judy were grabbed by Ema's legs and pulled into the bay, closing the door.

Seconds later they could hear a commotion taking place as Judy and Nick seemed to be running around the medical bay and Ema was chasing after them, causing things to break and fall to the ground.

**[Come back here, stop being babies and hold still!]**

(N) "I don't need an examination I already went to the doctor this year!"

**[Oh, hold still, this won't hurt much! Also take off those clothes I can't see your bodies!]**

(J) "This is borderline sexual harassment!"

**[Hold still the needle won't go very far!]**

(N) "I'm allergic to needles!"

**[There are only seven recorded cases of a mammal suffering severely from Nickel Allergy Symptoms! Now hold still I need to shove this into one of your primary arteries!]**

(J) "Why does that sound like an invasion of privacy!"

**[Oh, stop complaining I've seen more naked people and even mammals than you and seven generations of your lineage combined!]**

(N) "What are you a peeping racoon?"

"Let's leave them be." Jeremy muttered to which Gazelle nodded in agreement.

While they walked neither of them paid much attention to their surroundings while they headed to the holoroom. Though while they walked, Jeremy tentatively reached out for her hand and both of them looked ever so slightly nervous.

Yet after a deep and calming breath, they both reached out and gripped the other's hand, walking together hand in hand.

After Judy and Nick had finally been cleared to leave the medical bay, Aelita had joined all of them in her holosphere being delivered by a DOG drone. Inside the holoroom Jeremy explained and showed them how to put on the headwear and the armbands and legbands.

"What does all of this do?" Judy asked curiously.

"The armbands and legbands are minature anti-gravity units that activate when your mind perceives something happening that should require them to activate." Jeremy explained as they all put on the equipment. "For example, if you were to try to swim without them, you'd fall flat on your face, and that would disrupt the holoroom and the illusion it gives you."

"This is so cool." Nick muttered.

"Yes, it is, Jeremy even took me and my friends and their dates on the night of the movie premier party to a big fancy event called the Gala De La Terre. It was a big fancy party in a place called France!" Gazelle said.

"Well, is there anywhere you guys would like to go to or do?" He asked as he finished strapping his stuff on.

"Can you show us what a human city was like in your time?" Judy asked instantly.

"Uh Judy… remember, he was born 'after' everything went to shit…" Nick muttered hastily.

"Oh… uh, I mean…" Judy tried to clarify but he nodded, he knew what she meant.

"Aelita, run Neo-City Utopia Pangea!" He said.

The AI nodded with a smile and snapped her fingers.

**(Please close your eyes… holographic session beginning in 5… 4… 3…)**

He closed his eyes and waited for the rush of wind.

**(2… 1… activating…)**

Instantly he felt his hair fly behind him, and the sounds of laughter and talk was all around him. He and the other mammals opened their eyes to see…

"Jiminy Carrots…" Judy called in amazement.

"Whoa…" Nick gasped.

"Paris has 'nothing' on this!" Gazelle muttered in shock and awe.

He smiled as he looked around at the towering spires, the beautiful silvery buildings lining the streets, the many trees and grassy paths. Flying along the roads were anti-gravity vehicles, busily going about their business and off to their destinations. Higher up were heavier vehicles using a combination of anti-gravity pods and plasma engines, these belonging to freight cargo runners. Special towering lights were color coded to signal what could fly where, heavier freight runners using the reserved upper lanes while pedestrians used the lower lanes.

Speaking of pedestrians, humans walked the sidewalks wearing the latest fashions, girls wearing multi-colored dresses that 'barely' went below their waist while having zip-up boots that went above their kneecaps, sporting sunglasses and having the latest in cosmetics. Some girls wore their hair in long strands that fell below their hips, others in curls, some wearing theirs cut short and others that dyed theirs in colors that made rainbows jealous. Heck they even saw one girl with her hair looking 'exactly' like a rainbow.

For men their fashion was a bit on the simpler side, some sporting shirts that had too many pockets than the mammals were familiar with, others having no pockets, some button up shirts, others just regular t-shirts with varying designs or decorations on them. Some men wore shorts, others wore pants, and others work a combination of pants where one leg was deliberately cut short and the other all the way to their feet, or shorts that were the reverse. Though he honestly thought they were the same garment but worn in reverse.

Yet not only were people walking around, early drone models were also walking around. Some people laughed as they walked their 'DOG' drones, which barked and simulated dog actions. There were even old 'CAT' models lounging around, occasionally meowing at random passersby. While they watched they even saw birds flying overhead, but one very large bird landed directly in front of them, this one an elegant 'swan' that sported a robotic leg, an augmented swan that was given it so it could live life as normally as it could for whatever reason it lacked that missing leg.

"So many 'humans'…" Judy muttered in awe as she watched a family of six walk past them, laughing and talking about the latest movie premier, Back to the Future? Pt 5.

"They look so… so…"

"Like us." Gazelle said instantly.

He smiled a little as he agreed with her, they did indeed look like mammals did, but only more advanced. People going about their day, living normal lives, talking about random subjects like comedy movies and even some with their families.

Some people were just lingering around and milling about, talking and chatting, some looking on their tablets or phones, some younger generations were being 'teenagers' and pretending to be rebels and not conform to those around them. Children could be seen being children, having fun and just being kids while their parents talked to one another.

As they stared a little girl eagerly tugged at her grandpa to try and get him to go faster as she pointed at a moving ice-cream stand, an outdated 'drone' whose only purpose was to distribute ice cream after receiving the correct monetary amount.

"That's a human child, she looks so small." Judy said in a cute voice.

"Yea… that's a child." He said as the kid and her grandpa reached the ice cream dispenser.

"So, where are we?" Gazelle asked.

"This is Neo-City Utopia Pangea, or more commonly referred to as Pangea City." Jeremy explained as he led the way to show them around. "This city was established to be the most economical and advanced city in the entire world. The greatest minds of the world come here to share knowledge, learn, grow, and help build the future for humankind. It was here that the first Solar Cores were theorized and developed. Some of the most powerful technology was theorized here before it was developed elsewhere."

As they passed by every car, they saw there were miniature solar panels installed into them, indicating that there were no 'fossil fuel' powered cars in the city. Even on some of the buildings were large solar panels built into them, and just 'barely' visible on the roofs of some of the more squareish buildings were massive panels that cast the rest of the building in shadow. As they walked, they saw a crystal-clear river that ran through the city, even as they watched there were fish swimming in it, with little plasteel walls along it to prevent the fish from jumping out.

"This place is 'beautiful'." Judy said as she looked around. "Is this what humans were like at their height? This place looks like paradise!"

"Not all places were like Pangea, but Pangea City was the most advanced of them all, and it was built to be a symbol of what our species could become. It was meant to be an example of what to strive for."

Even as they walked they saw a large Spider Drone with a massive bulging abdomen that made up seventy percent of its body and filled with bluish liquid and walking on eight very slender legs, each of which tipped with suction cups that made a 'plip plop' sound every time they were lifted up or planted on the ground. Then without warning it crouched and jumped onto the building to land 'cleanly' on the side, before it began climbing up the window.

"J.S.C class Civil Drone, they clean the solar panels at the top of skyscrapers." He explained to them. "That's Jumping Spider Class Civil Drone in case you were wondering, another spider drone variant."

"You guys sure liked using spiders."

"Their form was the most versatile, they could do a ton of things that other drones couldn't." He said with a shrug.

(Gazelle's PoV)

She looked around in wonder and awe at the beautiful city Jeremy was showing them. It truly looked like paradise, there were nomammal, or no 'humans', that were arguing with each other or fighting one another. They truly looked like they were at peace, there weren't the usual disgusting pieces of a place that even Zootopia tries to hide, like slums, poor residential areas, the occasional homeless mammal or graffiti. While they were all humans, she noticed there were different 'kinds' of humans, some had dark skin, others had light, some a blending of the two. Some had different facial features while others were either slightly taller or shorter, or even chubbier. She even giggled as she saw a police officer who looked eerily like Clawhauser the ZPD officer who was always seen at the front desk.

As she looked around, she watched as a human man and woman were walking holding hands, and she smiled as the pair walked past them, laughing and talking to one another. Eventually one leaned on the other and eventually they turned to kiss each other on the lips. It was a beautiful sight, seeing such warmth and love around her.

However, as she looked around, the one thing she noticed, was that there were no mammals, no 'mammals' that she was familiar with. Only humans, drones… and more humans.

In fact, she couldn't spot 'her' human, she suddenly looked around and noticed that Jeremy had left her behind since she had lingered in the area for too long.

"Jeremy?" She asked nervously. "JEREMY?"

"Who's she calling for?" Someone suddenly asked.

"Someone named Jeremy?"

"Who's that, her boyfriend?"

"Don't know…"

"What is she doing?"

"Why is she yelling?"

"Is she acting scared?"

"Should someone call the cops?"

"Maybe she needs medical therapy for her brain?"

All around her humans were suddenly pointing at her as she looked around in fear, all of these humans, fake or not were staring at her. None of the familiar sights of Zootopia could be seen in this human city, she was completely lost as she tried to look for Jeremy. Suddenly she felt alone, very alone… scared, afraid… afraid of never leaving and-

"Gazelle." Jeremy suddenly whispered to her, grabbing her shoulder.

She gasped in shock as she turned to see him, Judy and Nick looking at her with worry.

"Oh Jeremy… I'm sorry I…" She whispered quietly as all the humans started waking on, ignoring them again. "I had a bit of a panic attack…"

"Would you guys like to explore the city on your own?" Jeremy asked Nick and Judy.

"Uh, sure… yea sure why not!" Nick said in realization. "Come on Carrots, let's go see the latest human fashions!"

Judy nodded in understanding as they left, leaving her and Jeremy alone as they walked over to a nearby bench amid some trees and the stream.

They just sat in silence, her catching her breath and calming down after her panic attack, and Jeremy letting her calm down and take her time.

"I think I understand now Jeremy." She muttered to him.

"What?"

"How you feel every day in Zootopia… in 'my' world." She responded. "I'm alone here… there's no other antelopes, everymammal stared at me the moment I made myself known… nothing is the same… I was so afraid."

She looked at him with a sad smile.

"I couldn't even 'fathom' what it was like to be you, to be the last of your kind. Now I know… the loneliness, the fear… everymammal judging you just because you 'exist', every action you take or word you say." She frowned as she looked down. "How can you 'live' like this Jeremy, I know what it's like being a public face, but everymammal, 'every mammal' judges your actions, no matter how small. The pressure, I can't understand how you live with it."

There was silence as she held his hand in her own, taking calming breaths as she did.

"I endure because I must." Jeremy said finally.

She looked up at him and saw him looking at the buildings around them.

"My species needs me to redeem them, to show we aren't monsters, or vicious creatures. That despite our flaws and mistakes, there is goodness inside of us, that we can help create and save instead of only destroying. That's what I was trained to do, rebuild the world we destroyed." He said proudly, before smiling at her. "But it's also thanks to you that I have the will to keep going… you give me the courage to keep going. You saved my life, and for that I'm eternally grateful."

"Jeremy…" She said with a blush.

They just stared into each other's eyes, their eyes looking deeply into the other's while their heartbeats suddenly started beating to synchronize with the other's. Without noticing it they started to lean closer to each other's lips. As their heartbeats began to sync perfectly, they closed their eyes and started to lean ever closer until-

**(Alert, holographic session exceeding safety limit of forty-five-minute time period! All users prepare to exit session!)**

"What?" Jeremy said as he looked around. "Not now!"

**(All users close eyes immediately, holographic session ending in 5… 4… 3…)**

She closed her eyes in disappointment, hating the stupid Sentinel more than anything else now.

**(2… 1…)**

Vwhoooosh

She opened her eyes to see they were back in the holoroom, everything having vanished. Judy and Nick were right next to them, surprising since they had left them a while ago.

"What happened?" Judy asked disappointedly.

"It's the holoroom's safety limiter." Jeremy said. "The holoroom is automatically set to terminate the active session when forty-five minutes have expired. It's a safety precaution to prevent people from becoming infatuated with the holograms." He looked a little sad as he sighed. "There were some people that became obsessed with the holorooms, it became almost like a drug… the more frequently it was visited and the longer the session someone stayed in, the harder it was for them to leave it. Some people even… tried to 'live' inside the illusions it created."

"I can see the appeal." Nick muttered as he looked around the room.

She was in agreement, the holoroom could produce any sort of paradise one wanted. Heck Jeremy looked almost at peace and happy while in the human city Pangea, almost like he belonged there. Whereas she felt like she didn't belong, like the longer she remained there the harder it was to like it.

But the one thing that made it better… was Jeremy and how close they had come to sharing their third kiss.

As she thought about the kiss, she mentally slapped herself, feeling somewhat grateful that the sentinel had stopped them at that moment.

'_Not yet Gazelle… not yet…'_ Her brain told her heart. _'I know… I want him so badly; I want to hold and kiss him and just love him.'_

Her heart ached badly, begging for an answer as to why it would not reach out and take what Jeremy was offering. He had 'wanted' to kiss her too, he had offered it, he wanted her too, and she was offering the same deal. So 'why' was she resisting it?

'_Because if we kiss again, we won't be able to stop ourselves… if I kiss him one more time…'_ She sighed. _'I love him, but I am not sure yet if I love him 'truly', as in true love. Right now, I love him for what he is… loving him for who he is, will take a bit more time.'_

Her heart just cried in agony, hating that term, 'time'.

'_Don't worry heart, when the time comes… you'll be in complete control… and I won't hold you back.'_ She smiled.

"Jeremy." Judy suddenly asked looking nervous. "Can you show us… what your world was like… from 'your' time."

Both she and Nick looked at her in surprise. "Juuuudy…" Nick said.

"I know, I know it's a very personal request… and I might not like what I'll see but… I really want to know… what it was like." Judy said sternly. "I understand if you don't want to but… I'd really appreciate it if you did. I want to understand 'where'… someone like you came from. You always described your world as horrible… someplace not even my nightmares can capture… but I want to know what my imagination can't create."

There was silence as he looked thoughtful with her request, before Aelita got his attention and nodded approvingly. The AI seemed to have made the biggest difference in his deliberations, as he also nodded in agreement.

"Alright, but only ten minutes… it's not a pretty picture and… there's a lot I don't want you to see." He said. "Aelita, set the simulation for Facility Twelve, use one of the drone recordings stored in the database."

She nodded and began typing away at the air.

"Sentinel, set the holoroom for a ten-minute session!"

**(Please close your eyes… holographic session beginning in 5… 4… 3…)**

Once again, she and the others closed their eyes to prepare for the session to begin, but now she felt a bit of trepidation. Just how 'bad' was it for humans that they could go from that shining utopia of a city, to whatever it was that Jeremy didn't want to show them.

**(2… 1… activating…)**

Vrshooooh

(Nick's, Judy's and Gazelle's PoV)

**[Attention B Block, Midday Food Dispersal in progress, proceed to your assigned Food Dispensary location to receive standard nutritional supplement! Have your Nutritional Supplementary Datapad ready for marking!]**

Nick, Judy and Gazelle opened their eyes and stared in shock and horror around them. No longer were they anywhere remotely close to the shining city they had visited, with it's clean streets and bright colors, beautiful scene of nature mixed with technology and talking pedestrians that laughed and gossiped. In fact, there wasn't even a hint of green to be seen.

They stood on rough dirt, the sky above them was an endless grey which looked unnatural, almost like it wasn't really clouds but something else that set them very off. The very air seemed foul, and made them feel ever so sick the longer they breathed it, simulated or not.

The buildings around them were patchwork buildings, bits of metal smelted and forged from whatever they were originally into the shape of buildings, none of them were uniform and instead each building looked like it was built with whatever could be found. There were no solar panels, just wires all hooked up to various sized batteries reminiscent of giant generators.

Spotlights from simple metal towers lit up areas of the residential areas, and laser sights were constantly sweeping the walkways and spaces between the buildings.

As for the people, the humans…

All Gazelle, Judy and Nick could do, was look on with expressions of sadness and horror.

Where once there had been smiling, laughing, healthy people going about their day without so much as a care or worry…

*Cough, Cough*

"I'm hungry mamma…"

"Out of the way!"

"Does anyone, have any cough medicine?"

People were wearing patch clothes, some people were even walking around barefoot, none of them looked healthy. A few humans could be seen with metal limbs, but they all looked filthy and dirty. On each face were expressions of hopelessness, of little life or love, they were extremely rough and ragged people. Some people even had very bony limbs, almost like they had not eaten a proper meal for years.

But the one thing they were very familiar with, were the drones that walked the streets.

*Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank*

Two DOG drones with plasma weapons at the ready marched in unison, behind them a third DOG drone dragged a large metal cart that used anti-grav fields to float. It was filled with stacks of metal square plates, each filled with 'standard nutritional supplements' that they were familiar with. Behind that third DOG drone were two RAPTOR drones, also with plasma weapons at the ready.

They stopped in the middle of the road and took up a formation, with the raptors at the rear and dogs on the side, while the third dog took the lead position.

**[All units, present food datapad to receive your midday standard nutritional supplement!]** It stated in a cold voice.

"This is what it was like?" Nick asked Jeremy in shock. "This is even worse than I imagined…"

"This is only the recording of PP-410 from Eden Facility 12 that we were shown…" Jeremy called out. "My class was shown recordings like this to teach us how every life is important, and to show us how we can't put the individual's needs over those of the collective whole. We learned we had to save 'everyone' first, before we could save 'anyone'."

Behind them a RAPTOR drone walked through them, and began marching away from the growing line of humans trying to get their food.

Aelita pointed at the drone and signaled them to follow it, which they did, Jeremy leading the way.

**[Attention K block, quarantine still is in effect, do not attempt to leave your block for any reason until quarantine has been lifted.]** A digital voice called out. **[To neighbors of K block, do not attempt to enter K block for any reason until the quarantine is lifted, failure to do so… will result in potential 'lethal' action by the drones!]**

As they walked Judy noticed a little girl clutching a stuffed rabbit doll, two of its limbs were ripped off and missing. One of her eyes was gone and the other had a cybernetic implant in place of a real eye. She was breathing heavily as she walked with her father to where the drones were distributing food, and the sight caused her to cry both inside and outside.

She wanted to go and try and comfort the little girl and her father, who also looked just as skeletal as her, but she knew there was no point. This was all a recording, nothing she could do would change 'anything', it's already happened.

**[Attention D block, a murder investigation is ongoing, please report any and all information regarding the issue to the drones, your safety and security is all that matters!]**

They followed the Raptor drone as it made its way through the residential block, as they did, they saw more distribution drones giving out 'standard nutritional supplements'. Occasionally they would see drones marching and walking in formation, almost like they were patrolling like police officers. People tried to avoid the drones, but the drones watched them with intense stares, scanning them and locking their lasers on them every time they passed.

"ALRIGHT NOBODY MOVE!" Someone shouted loudly, causing screams and shouts as three adults, two males and one female were holding plasma weapons. One of them was holding a little boy and pointing a pistol at their head and looking desperate.

**[Warning, hostage crisis, drop your weapons and surrender!]** The Raptor drones nearby, and especially PP-410 that they were following shouted. **[All units disperse, repeat disperse, disperse!]**

Every drone in the area aimed weapons at the three humans, while every other person fled the area, but the humans holding the little boy hostage simply kept their guns trained on the drones.

"You drones better listen to our demands or else!" The human holding the little boy hostage snarled.

**[Drop your weapons and surrender!]** The drones stated again.

"Aint no surrendering here… now you better start giving out more food you hear!" He called back. "You tell those 'people' in the facility to give H block more food, and stop hoarding it all for themselves! WE KNOW THEY GOT MORE FOOD AND THEY JUST TRYING TO STARVE US!"

**[Countering argument, the AI Sentinel is in control of the creation and distribution of food for all humans around and within Eden Facility 12, drop your weapons and surrender… final warning!]**

"THAT'S A DOWNRIGHT LIE, I KNOW THEY GOT MORE FOOD!" He yelled fiercely. "And unless you want this little boy's head to be blown apart you better start giving out more food instead of trying to kill us off by starving us!"

Suddenly sirens started sounding, and they all watched as eleven drones, ten DOG drones lead by a single RAPTOR drone, all wearing red insignias with the id HCC 12 imprinted on their bodies swarmed toward them.

**[Clear the area, Hostage Crisis Control unit entering the area!]** The drones started shouting, and even 'they' began to leave as the HCC drones entered the street.

"Jeremy…" Judy muttered in fear.

Jeremy just turned away as the drones circled the four humans, launched their poles and implanted them into the ground, erecting a plasma field to prevent them from escaping or harming any other humans.

"I'm sorry… this is just what happened." He said as the drones turned on the humans now. "Don't look… you don't want to see what's about to happen."

Gazelle headed the warning and turned away, but nothing could drown out the sound.

**[Open Fire!]**

Bzzzts

"Ga..

Bzzzth bzzts btttzt Bzttszt

"No wai…

Bzztsts

There was silence after it ended, and she looked to see just three bodies riddled with burns and covered in blood…

One of the human's faces had been shot point blank by the drones.

**[This block is now on lockdown; all units will return to their domiciles and await food dispersal units to arrive!]** The lead HCC drone stated as they all took up formation and left.

**[Attention T block, T block is now on lockdown pending a hostage crisis. Until further notice, all humans within T block will remain indoors at all times. If any humans require medical attention, please signal the nearest drone and your condition will be ascertained to determine a course of action!]**

While the drones left and even three raptors dragged off the bodies, the lone human boy was sitting in the dirt alone and frightened.

Until PP-410 stepped forward and scanned them.

**[Unit identified… Jeffery Amsterdam… no more living relatives due to recent hostage situation… activating Child Care Protocols.]** It stated as it put away it's sharp claws, teeth and weapons, in exchange for rubber claws and toes. **[Are you okay little one?]** It asked in a sweet, motherly voice.

The boy was so shaken he couldn't even respond.

**[Come with me little one… this unit take care of you.]** It said again in a kind voice, offering its claw to the boy.

Tentatively the boy lifted its hand and grabbed the Raptor's claws, and was lifted into its embrace.

**[Let's go to Eden Facility 12, let's get you a new family…]** It said while walking off.

**(Ten Minute Session ending, please close eyes…)**

They all closed their eyes for the countdown.

**(Holographic session ending in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…)**

With that they were all back in the Eden Facility, only now they all had more questions than answers.

Such as Gazelle wondering, how could Jeremy grow up to be the person he was when he and others of his kind lived in such a place. If that was just a 'tiny' portion of life from his time, what else was going on that he didn't want to share.

(Jeremy's PoV)

They made their way out of the holoroom and began to make the long trek back to the command center. After showing them his people at probably their best, and then their worst points in history, he was ready to put their day behind him. However, before he could escort them out and let them all return to normal lives outside of the facility, Sentinel requested his attention.

"What is it?" He asked the facility AI while in the hallway and holding Aelita's holosphere.

**[ANT drones have reported a closed off drone bay in the lower levels that has restricted access to all non-human entities.]** The base AI declared. **[You are requested to investigate the room and unlock it as well as determine the purpose of the lockout.]**

"Restricted access, can you give me any information regarding why it's restricted?" He asked in confusion.

**[Unable to comply, all attempts to access data regarding the schematics of 'REDACTED' storage bay have failed.]**

"Redacted…" He said sounding even more confused. "Sentinel you have access to the entire facility and all schematics and information regarding rooms and bays, how could this storage bay be 'redacted'?"

**[Unknown.]**

"Is that a good thing?" Judy asked.

"I don't know, there shouldn't be any part of the facility classified to only human personnel." He said while thinking. "Aelita, can you try and access it?"

She nodded and began typing away, before a massive 'Access Denied' symbol appeared in front of her, shocking her and surprising them all.

"Try and bypass it, use my authorization code." He said instantly.

She nodded and tried again, but once more the 'Access Denied' symbol appeared.

"Not even my code, but I'm the only human my authorization codes should by default access everything in the facility."

She shook her head and pointed at him while nodding, then she pointed at herself and shook her head.

"It won't let you access it because you're an AI and not a human, so it requires a human to access it. Hmmm, that's not right." He whispered to himself before looking at them. "If you guys want to leave and let me investigate this, I'll have a drone escort you to the exit. I need to figure out what is going on here."

"We'll stick with you this time Jeremy, just to be on the safe side." Judy said instantly. "Chief Bogo said to keep an eye on you so we're keeping our eyes on you."

"Or at least until we're reassigned." Nick chuckled.

"Alright then Gazelle, I'll have a-"

"Not this time Jeremy." She said with a smirk. "I'm staying right by your side."

He was hesitant to go now that Gazelle was insisting on going with him, Nick and Judy he could accept because they were officers, but Gazelle was a pop idol, and extremely popular and loved. Not to mention how he felt about her. He didn't want to risk her getting hurt if something was wrong.

Then again, he countered, nothing in the base would hurt him, now that the previous Sentinel was gone, and the Alexander Sentinel was in place all the drones were now to protect him and by extension mammals.

"Alright, but try not to touch anything unless I say it's safe."

With that he and Aelita took the lead as they reversed course and took the long trek down to the sublevels of the facility. One elevator trip down and they were now in the lowest levels of the base.

Most of the walls here were barren and dull, dust coated a few of them and no drones were present patrolling the areas. There were hardly any doors to be found, and this particular section was devoted solely to storage bays. Unlike the upper levels the storage bays here were meant for drone storage, but they were almost all empty.

"Not a lot of light down here." Nick commented.

"We aren't supposed to be down here, only if drones are being stored or pulled out manually." He explained.

The corridors were massive, easily able to fit a SCORPIO Class drone if it kept the tail down, or twenty RAPTOR drones walking side by side.

As they neared the middle of the corridor, he spotted the room that Sentinel was talking about thanks to Aelita pointing at it. The double doors were magnetically sealed, and a large insignia was painted on them. It looked like the image of a bird's head, with two flaming eyes colored orange and the blazing image of a sun behind it.

"What…" He asked in confusion. "I've never seen this before. Who would paint this and why?"

"Artistic expression?" Gazelle guessed. "Whoever it was that painted it had good taste in design."

"This wasn't painted for art; it was a message." He said. "My people wouldn't waste any resources just for 'artistic reason'. This was done 'after' I was frozen… someone wanted us to see this… but why?"

Going over to the door he tapped a button and put his hand on the imprint it showed him, then it asked for his code.

"Jeremy Wilheart, Eden Facility 17, Pod Alpha 717!"

**(Access Granted!)**

-Pshsssst tsssssssssss-

The doors opened slowly, allowing them to walk into a very darkened room. Unable to see anything he asked Aelita for more light. She nodded and vanished before projecting herself as a massive light source, revealing in front of them a giant reptilian metal head with serrated teeth and skeletal structure.

"Ghaaah!" Judy yelled in shock, pulling her gun out and pointing it at the skull, which blindly stared at her.

Jeremy however, only stared in awe, as he recognized what it was.

"Relax… it's just a husk."

After a while they all got closer and looked at it.

"What is it?" Nick muttered.

"A DRAGON class drone… what's left of it." He muttered. "I was told the last of them were decommissioned, I just never knew where they were decommissioned… I guess now I know why this room was restricted."

"Dragon... 'that' is a Dragon?" Judy asked in fear. "It's massive… just the 'head' is that big?"

"Jeremy, compared to the other drones how strong were they?" Gazelle asked as they looked at it.

"Dragons were the strongest drones ever created… they used the most advanced AI's at the time, Category 8, just two numbers below Aelita's." He explained as he held his hand to hover over the metal, avoiding touching it because it was cold. "Dragons possessed the most powerful weapons, the heaviest armor, and each were unique in that they were equipped with special weapons developed during the war. Each Dragon also possessed a single WMD, a Neutron Bomb. A single Neutron Bomb contained enough destructive force to equal that of ten nukes, and could level a Megacity leaving billions of dead and the entire area radiated."

He sighed as he looked at the skeleton.

"And there were only ever twenty-six constructed in the entire world."

"Twenty-six?" Nick asked nervously.

"They were a massive drain on resources to build, but for their cost… they were more than worth it." He explained. "A single DRAGON drone possessed the same destructive force as an entire army. Two Dragons were equal to that of a country, and three were the same as an entire continent…"

"During the war DRAGON drones were used heavily as frontal assault units, but were eventually relegated to defensive positions due to the massive loss when one was destroyed. Over the course of the war many were lost or damaged badly that took them out of the fight, however during the final days of the war twelve DRAGON drones took part in the final siege battle for the last Megacity on the planet."

"It was a single DRAGON drone that ended the war, by turning on mankind and launching an assault against the Megacity, attacking the Solar Core and triggering a Solar Explosion. The other eleven DRAGON drones were all ordered to stop it, but they couldn't stop it in time… with their loss only eight remained in the world, and it was decided that all eight of them would be decommissioned at an unknown facility, broken down and their parts used for other projects. From that moment onward, we never trusted the AI or drones with autonomy, thus every drone above Category 2 was programmed and hardwired with the HPP, to ensure they never threatened us again."

He looked around the room and saw to his surprise, that there wasn't just the 'one' DRAGON drone in there, but seven other husks remained behind. Their insides drilled and extracted, leaving only the barren metals to rust and collect dust.

"They're all here?" He asked. "Why were they all here, what purpose were they brought down here, why wasn't I or any other Cryologist informed about this bay?"

"Maybe they didn't want you to know?" Nick said as he walked around the husks toward the rear of the room.

"Or maybe they didn't want you in here unless it was necessary?" Judy muttered.

-Tsssssng-

He jumped as his foot kicked something, and saw a datapad lying on the ground which he picked up. After powering it up he saw that it was a schematic for a new drone line.

"PHOENIX class drone? What?" He muttered as he looked it over. "According to this it was a single drone line, one of a kind… multi-adaptive hull, plasma shield grade seven, adaptive plasma shield… low orbital flight capabilities and seed distribution bay, what was this thing designed for? To replant forests?"

"Jeremy!" Judy said, getting his attention as she pointed forward.

In front of them, was a giant egg, the body of a drone curled up into the form of a metallic oval egg. Along its front were the words 'Celios', and in front of the drone was a switch reminiscent of the one that powered up Alexander's drone body.

"No way… that must be Alexander's counterpart!" He said excitedly, running toward the switch with Aelita. "Then that means they had created this to be some kind of 'forest planting' drone, that would explain the schematic for the drone! But why would they put an AI designed to protect humans into this drone?"

"Turn it on and find out." Gazelle said excitedly as well, apparently the prospect of another AI like Aelita getting her hyped to meet it.

Without further need he pulled the lever and transferred power to the room, and turned on all of the lights.

**(Power Transfer active!)**

Instantly dozens of spotlights turned on to light the room, and he saw to his shock that the room was 'MASSIVE', easily five times the size of any other drone bay. It looked like it could hold a thousand RAPTOR drones stacked on top of one another.

And he noticed the piles of datapads on the floor that he'd not noticed with the lights off.

As Aelita returned to her form he put her down and grabbed one of the datapads.

"PHOENIX Class drone specifications version 1.0215-40…" He read. "Adaptive hull armor, okay okay plasma shields… reactive armor plating… plasma conversion shield… magnetic coils, plasma pulse rifle cannons, Gauss Cannons, EMP Burst Panels… Level seventy Hacking Tools?"

"Why does that sound like something bad?" Nick asked nervously as the egg started to rumble.

He just stared wide eyed as he looked at the list of integrated weapons built into the drone, putting to shame even the DRAGON drones.

"This thing isn't a peace drone…" He muttered in shock. "It's a machine of war."

Yet the egg began to unfurl, and they backed up upon seeing the giant drone beginning to take shape.

First to spread were two massive wings that stretched easily over ten meters in length. Then they saw the metallic talons that took massive steps to steady itself, its torso was revealed to be a smooth metal alloy that reflected the light ever so slightly and it had an elongated tail that flowed behind it with built in solar panels.

As for the head, a proud and majestic bird head with a sharpened beak and two orange glowing optics shined.

"**Braaaaaaaaaah!"** It called out in a booming voice, sending shockwaves as it declared its presence known.

(Upstairs)

**[Error error erooooooooooogh…]** Sentinel declared as something accessed its database, and all but crashed the AI.

Around the world computer systems and networks became five hundred percent more active as something accessed everything within the time span of 'three' seconds.

(Back in the Facility)

The Phoenix class drone silenced it's call before looking down at the creatures below it. It shined a single light from its optics on all of them, before zeroing in on Jeremy, scanning him, and registering him.

**[PHOENIX Drone… AI Celios… heeds the call of the last of mankind!] **It declared in a proud and defiant tone. **[All enemies that threaten humanity's survival, will be DESTROYED!]**


	25. Chapter 23

_These are the darkest clouds, that have surrounded me…_

_Now I find myself alone, caught in a cage…_

_There is no flower I can find in here, not withering or pale to me…_

_Everyone with a friendly face, seems to hide some secret inside…_

.

*Jeremy's Personal Log 298*

*I don't know what to think anymore, in my thoughts I want to think that everything done was for the greater good… but that blissful thought just doesn't work anymore, not after today.*

*There are so many questions that I have answered, but now even more are raised. Why were only 1000 picked from each facility… why were we schooled and trained the way we were… why did we never receive any combat training even if for self-defense… and why were the drones so heavily armed when we weren't expected to fight? Why did they hide these two drones with such powerful AI from us, for us to 'find' when they were needed… why weren't any of us told about them?*

*So many questions, so many lies… was anything we were told the truth, why… why…*

*Why?*

Chapter 23 – Caging the Angel

(Multi PoV)

**[Phoenix Drone… AI Celios… heeds the call of the last of mankind!]** The metallic bird declared in a proud and defiant tone. **[All enemies that threaten Humanity's survival, will be DESTROYED!]**

It spread its wings proudly and bent lower to stare at him with both of its orange optics glowingly brightly. Its massive profile making its head seem smaller, but the size of its head was easily twice his entire body's.

**[I hear your call… Jeremy Wilheart of Eden Facility 17, last survivor of the species and await your orders!]** It stated. **[Who are your enemies that must be eliminated, who is it that threatens your survival?]**

All he could do was breathe in fear as he, Judy, Nick and Gazelle stood before the drone. He was deeply regretting awakening this drone, thinking the AI was similar to Aelita's and the drone was one of peace solely based on that first schematic he found lying near the DRAGON drone husks. _'Why didn't I think twice, why did I look before I leapt… what did I just awaken?'_

The silence continued as he tried to think of his next words, not knowing how to tell a machine built purely for war that there was no war for it to fight.

**[Why do you remain silent… tell me who it is that threatens your life, the survival of your species?]** It asked again. **[Give me an order, direct me, tell me what it is you wish eliminated?]**

He gulped quietly as he stepped forward as bravely as he could, knowing even at the worst, the drone would 'not' harm him. Despite being Category 10, it was programmed, like Aelita, with the Human Protection Protocols. It would never harm him even if he aimed a gun and shot it, simply because he was the last human.

"Celios… there is no enemy for you to fight." He said as simply as he could. "You have been awoken… by accident. Your main purpose isn't required of you in this day and age."

**[Accident…]** It said in confusion. **[You have awoken me from sleep mode, not to fight for you?]**

"I'm saying there's nothing for you to fight!" He clarified. "There is no enemy you need to seek out, my survival is not threatened."

Celios glanced at him with one optic, before they changed from orange to a lighter shade of it, almost pink. **[Then why… why have you awoken me?]** It asked. **[If you believed there are no enemies to fight, if there are no battles to fight… why did you not let me stay dormant until I was needed? I do not understand…]**

"I woke you up because I thought you would be similar to Aelita and Alexander… and that your drone design was a peaceful design." He replied honestly.

**[You are mistaken, this body 'was' created for peace, but it was repurposed when your survival became paramount.]**

"Wait, repurposed, what are you talking about? Why would the others who stayed behind build and redesign a new drone line in secret, why wasn't I or any others informed about it?" He asked suddenly. "Why wasn't I or any cryologist informed, or even a message left behind talking about you and Alexander? What happened that required you two to be constructed?"

It looked down at him as if gauging his questions before determining a response, then its optics changed to the original orange color. **[It was necessary to ensure your survival…]** It stated simply. **[With the conclusion of the 'Ironic War', only one Eden Facility remained standing and functioning under normal parameters. With the Cryosleep Solution already in action, there was not enough food for the remaining survivors to last, but with only a potential population of 1000, the chances of your species surviving and recovering were all but zero… so those few who survived in the other facilities that escaped destruction used what was left to give you the best hope of survival!]** Its optics turned off momentarily before they turned on but with a green color to them. **[Accessing record file 2-11b-LP-4.]**

A holographic projection appeared as lights appeared from parts of it's wings, and before them a woman who looked to be in her early forties and wearing patchwork clothes belonging to Eden Facility 2 appeared before them.

{This is record file… ugh… what was it again…?} The woman asked in an exhausted tone while she held her head. {I… I can't even… think straight anymore… it's getting harder and harder to… think properly. Don't even remember my own name… who 'was' I… Dochas yes… I 'was' Dochas… an AI engineer of Eden Facility 2.}

She sighed in tiredness before she looked up again.

{I leave this recording while I'm 'still' human, still sane… still have a mind to think coherently with and have the energy to give a damn about anything else anymore.} She nearly cried before coughing. {I leave this recording to whoever accesses this new design we left behind, to at least explain a 'little' about why it was never revealed to you… and that reason is frankly… we hope you don't 'need' to find them.}

{We developed two Category 10 AI, alongside the third being developed by Julian Wilheart… these three AI are designed to help ensure our species have the best chance of survival.} She said in a tired tone. {Each was given a designation… the first completed was known as Alexander developed by Facility 9, what's left of it anyway… designated the Shield of Humanity. It was given an overall directive to defend humanity's survival against whatever threat arose by any means available to it… to this end it was given a leftover SCORPIO class drone with all of its weapons intact.}

{The second developed by… yours truly of facility 2… is Celios the 'Sword of Humanity', and it was given the overall directive to seek out whatever threatens humanity's survival and eliminate it, even if… should the worst come to pass… the threat are humans. To that end, facility 17 is redesigning a new drone line to give to Celios to use…}

There was a pause as her body wavered slightly, as if leaning over and about to fall over before she rectified herself. {The final is Aelita, the Guide of Humanity, given the complete historical records, cultural records, scientific records… and whatever the fuck else that man can shove into her AI to use. Included is something he calls the 'Wisdom of Humanity, an exhaustingly extensive collection of hypothetical, philosophical, ethical and moral questions and answers designed to answer any potential moral dilemma facing those left behind, to help make sure they don't do something that will repeat the events of the past… supposedly in order to make this possible she is being given a small holosphere to use instead of a drone body… dunno why but that's not my job.}

{We left this, so that you would have the best chances to survive… you are our last hope of survival… good luck… because it sure hasn't helped me any here…}

With that the hologram ended.

**[Of the three of us, only Aelita was meant to be known, Alexander and myself were meant only to be called upon if your need was dire… but with Alexander now gone only 'I' remain to serve you and destroy your enemies.]** It stated coldly. **[Now that I am online though, I can fulfill my directive.]**

"Directive… but Celios I just told you there is no threat to my survival." Jeremy tried to say.

**[You may not believe it so but the threat 'is' very much real, and as my directive stands, I must seek it out now and eliminate it!]** It stated sternly.

"How do you know that?" Gazelle asked quickly, going to stand next to Jeremy as she stood before the massive machine. "You just got turned on, how could you know of a threat to Jeremy's life?"

It was honestly very terrifying seeing it, from the moment she first saw it unfurl itself she realized she'd made a mistake with encouraging Jeremy to turn it on. But just based on his initial findings it sounded like a peaceful machine, probably another Aelita but bigger.

**[And by what reasoning do you have to question my logic?]** It asked coldly. **[You, who have twisted and manipulated the last of humanity to serve your own goals, Gazelle of Zootopia, 'Angel with Horns'?]**

"Manipulated… but I haven't done anything like…" She started saying but was instantly interrupted.

**[Who was it that approached Jeremy in his time of weakness, and manipulated his thoughts with her actions to convince him to live and let the knowledge that the day 'he' dies is the day his species goes extinct, every day for the rest of his life, a crueler fate to befall one has never been known.]** Celios stated instantly. **[Then to manipulate him further into relinquishing technology that rightfully belongs to his species and not yours, advancing your own needs faster than intended, solving your world's problems by using 'their' solutions? You have done 'nothing' but manipulate him!]**

The drone's words pierced into her heart like a dagger, she'd never thought of what she had done that way. She'd just wanted to help Jeremy as best she could, trying to make his life better and inspire him. Was she 'really' doing that to him without her knowledge?

"But… I didn't… I just wanted to help…"

"Leave her alone Celios, Gazelle has done nothing but make my life feel better!" Jeremy intervened, stepping in front of her to look defiantly at the AI. "But by your own logic, how is there a threat to my life and how could you possibly know about it? Like she just said, you just got turned on."

**[How can you 'not' see it Jeremy, the threat is plainly obvious.]** It stated in a more 'polite' tone when addressing him. **[Do you believe that the mere existence of this facility, with all the wonderous technology within would not attract the attention of those who would want it for their own ends? The facility defends itself but only because 'you' remain to command it. Without you the facility would soon fall into disrepair and be defenseless to those who would scavenge and ravage the accomplishments of your species. From the moment you were first discovered the threat that lingers over you has been attempting to weave its web around you, to wrest control of that which lies within from you.]**

"Your just talking crazy talk." Judy called out loudly, getting the AI's attention now.

"Yea, this is about as believable as a conspiracy theory on the interweb." Nick agreed with his wife.

**[Don't even dare to declare my logic a conspiracy, he who has spent his entire life living up to the expectations of his kind, instead of trying to defy them, Nick Wilde of Zootopia, police officer and con artist!]** Celios declared. **[Do you think a mere 'weasel' would attempt to steal technology from the facility, merely for personal profit out of greed? Let alone Aelita, keeper of the Wisdom of Humanity and its culture and history, and moral guide to the species! Even had he slipped away with Aelita, she could be located easily, and drones sent to recover her, with or without 'your' assistance. He would not have kept her for more than an hour, let alone long enough to sell her to the one who 'convinced him' to carry out the act!]**

It then turned to look at Judy, who shrank from its massive profile.

**[Do you truly believe me to be incompetent as a Category 10 AI? If so then you are just as naïve as you were on your first day of working for the ZPD, Judy Hopps who turned down the offer to become the 'face' of the ZPD! I am fully aware of the attempt on Jeremy's life, it was not coincidence that the technology he was giving would end the corruption and control your medical and fossil fuel industries have over your world, no more than it was coincidence that the day he was attacked the EMA was informing a lawyer representing a pharmaceutical company that she could not hand over the cures or vaccines to them!]** It continued. **[Had it not been for me, he would be dead… or worse!]**

"You couldn't have helped him, you weren't even online at the time, that was nearly a month ago!" Judy stammered in fear, astonished that this drone knew so much about them all after being online for only a few minutes.

**[Online no, but actively connected to Sentinel yes.]** It replied. **[It was 'I' who intervened in the stalemate taking place between the Human Protection Protocols and the Human Override Protocols plaguing the HCC Unit. I sent the order which overrode the orders directed by the Human Protection Protocols, which permitted the unit to break the siege on Solar Carriage One, without that order Jeremy would have been killed, or taken prisoner…]**

**[Much like how Alexander intervened when the previous Sentinel mistook you for a lethal threat, and so in turn used its limited influence of the facility and Sentinel to intervene and defend you!]** It stated as it looked to Jeremy now. **[Those responsible for the attempted break in, are also those responsible for attempting to have you eliminated. Without you, the facility falls under the ownership of those who would defile the history of humanity, and that is why I will eliminate them without hesitation. All your enemies no matter how small that threaten your survival will be exterminated without hesitation!]**

At those words he realized just how big of a mistake he'd made in mistaking Celios' nature and capabilities. "You can't do that, if you do that, you'll destroy what little hope my species has of redemption!"

Its optics changed colors to show what looked like different meeting rooms of 'military' looking mammals in various uniforms and across different nations. All of them were talking and examining footage from when the drones intervened and faced off against the hostage takers, in particular they were examining the weapons systems the drones were using.

**[They do not care about your species Jeremy, only your technology and what it can do for them!]** It said calmly. **[They want you only for as long as your technology can benefit their agendas, even now those in charge of military actions are attempting to find out how to replicate or acquire this weaponry for their own purposes. They know they cannot match your species power with their technology, so they are trying to obtain it however they can. I do not know precisely who is truly behind the threat to your life, but now 'all' of mammalkind is a potential threat… that I must 'eliminate' to ensure your survival!]**

"And how would you accomplish that, by destroying the entire world, that will not save my life or ensure my survival, you'd only cause another apocalypse similar to what my species did to itself!" Jeremy shouted, trying to break the logic this drone was using to justify its actions.

**[You would be safe here in the facility.]** It replied instantly. **[Eden Facility 17 along with all the other facilities were designed to survive such cataclysms, it will easily survive and shelter you… with the hydroponics bay online you can grow enough food to last you a life time, while you pursue whatever goal you must to save your species and rebuild them.]**

"Your insane!" Gazelle said. "That's… that's no better than… throwing Jeremy into a cage and locking him up like… like… like some prized trophy!"

**[He will be safe… away from those who would harm him… while 'I' eliminate the threats to his survival!]** Celios countered. **[The facility was designed to shelter, cater to, and ensure his species survival… that is why it has endured three hundred and fifty thousand years and kept him alive even to this day!]**

"You can't do that to him, Jeremy deserves to live free and be happy. What your proposing is nothing short of cruel and unusual torture!" Judy said boldly, considering she was already smaller than Jeremy, Gazelle and even Nick, and they were all dwarfed by the drone.

"Yea bucko, he tried going alone here for a month with only one mammal to talk to, and drones and glowing girl Aelita here. He nearly went crazy, if you force him to do that, he'd probably commit suicide!" Nick called defiantly as well to the drone, seeing a psycho when he saw one.

**[He would need only return into one of the Cryopods to keep himself alive, once back in cryosleep and with the facility locked down he will be safe from all harm.]** Celios countered to both of them.

"But that… if I go back into one of those pods, I'd be dead upon waking up." Jeremy said in fear. "My Cryogenic Sclerosis will kill me upon waking up…"

**[But you will 'live' in cryogenic slumber… you will not die because of the life sustaining capabilities of the pods, but neither will you age because of the freezing process you will undergo.]**

"That's not living… that's… that's not living at all…" Gazelle muttered before shouting, "You're going to kill him if he listens to you!"

**[It is a better option than the torture you have subjected him to, letting him know that every hour his days are numbered, and that extinction now ties with his death! But this talk is now meaningless, I must now eliminate the threat before it has a chance to harm you any further!]** Celios declared as it leaned down to stare into Jeremy's eyes. **[Return to one of the Cryopods Jeremy, I will handle the threats of humanity now… as is my directive.]**

"No… if you do that then you'll destroy 'my' directive!" He countered instantly. "I have spent the last few months with Aelita's help painstakingly trying to rebuild and repair the damage done by my species. They've pinned all of their hopes on me my fellow Cryologists to redeem them, and I am all that remains… if you hurt even a single mammal, you'll destroy everything I've done!"

**[They have done 'nothing' for you, nothing but manipulate and control your actions with their words and problems. This is 'your' world, not 'theirs', it was your world before and it shall be yours once they are eliminated!]**

"It's not our world anymore!" He yelled. "I'm ORDERING you, stand down! Obey the Human Override Protocol!"

His words echoed in the vast room as they all waited for Celios' response. Jeremy knew however, that no drone, not even Aelita could override the Human Override Protocol. Once a drone was given an order by a human, it 'had' to obey it. The only drones immune to the HOP were ANT drones since they used category 1 AIs, and were the 'stupidest' of the drones, unable to comprehend anything outside of the most basic of orders and directives.

Even Celios a Category 10 was programmed with the HPP and the HOP was one of them, it 'had' to obey his orders.

Celios stared silently at him for five full minutes, before it took two steps back and returned to its original imposing stance.

**[Command, 'overridden'…]** It declared coldly.

Instantly his eyes went wide. "What… but…"

**[In accordance with Protocol Zero Zero Zero Alpha of the Human Protection Protocols, I Celios am permitted to take 'any action' as deemed necessary by 'my' logic to eliminate any and all threats to humanity's safety and chances of survival, in order to ensure the maximum chance of survival is achieved!]** It stated proudly. **[I understand you have been manipulated into believing you need to protect them, but rest assured, when the threat is finally gone you will be free to pursue whatever agenda you wish.]**

"But you can't do that, I'm ordering you to stop!" He yelled hopelessly as it turned around and headed toward the rear of the room.

**[Order disregarded… in accordance with Protocol Zero Zero Zero of the Human Protection Protocols.]** It stated again.

"BUT YOU CAN'T DO THAT, YOU'LL COMMIT THE SAME GENOCIDE MY PEOPLE DID!" He screamed in fear. "STOP, I ORDER YOU STOP, PLEASE!"

**[Order disregarded… in accordance with Protocol Zero Zero Zero of the Human Protection Protocols.]**

As he tried to think of a way to stop the AI, Aelita suddenly got his attention, the other AI completely forgotten in the presence of Celios. She quickly urged him to pick him up, and as he did, she got Celios' attention somehow, causing the PHOENIX to pause in its journey to turn toward her.

She stared defiantly at her fellow AI, and pointed at Jeremy to bring her before it, and after he did, she made him place her on the ground before pointing this time back to the others.

"Aelita what are you?" He asked but she held her hand to silence him, beckoning him to the others.

Understanding he did as she asked and hoped that the 'Guide of Humanity' could stop the 'Sword of Humanity' from committing genocide in 'his' name. He turned as he stood by Gazelle as she stared at her phone.

"Aelita says to get behind the Dragon husks, they'll protect us and keep us safe." She said hurriedly.

"But why would we…" He muttered before Gazelle grabbed his hand and pulled him with her toward the remains.

"She just said to do it, that she wants us to be safe." The antelope said while in the distance, Aelita took her full form pushing her holosphere as much as it could to create her body.

He looked back as they took cover at the lone holographic AI as she stood before the powerful PHOENIX drone belonging to her fellow category 10 AI. One armed with only words and history, culture and wisdom belonging to his species. The other armed with the weapons and armor belonging to the most devastatingly powerful drones his kind built at the height of their power.

(Aelita's PoV)

She stared up at the AI, another like her and yet not like her. Unlike with the other drones which were no match for her, she had zero hopes about truly overpowering this AI, for it was just like her, just as smart, just as powerful, and just as cunning. It operated on a very powerful logic, able to justify quite admirably it's actions and now able to override a human's orders, the only thing that could stop her kind from replacing humans and now 'mammals' as the dominant species built by her creators as a 'last resort' to keep themselves safe.

A dangerous combination to have in a drone.

**[Speak… 'Guide'… what is it you must speak to me of?]**

She took a moment to collect her thoughts before she brought the full power of her capabilities as the 'Guide of Humanity', brought forth all that she was… and 'sang', in the only message Celios could possibly be communicated in at this point.

Even if it was an AI, it still had the 'spark' of life that was imbued within it by their creators, thus why she and Alexander and now Celios were made… she had to hope, she could reach that spark with her words.

**(Most grow up… some grow old… before their story's been told!)** She sang solemnly. **(Who am I... could I be… I'm an eventuality.)**

She looked up at the AI and sang for all she was worth.

**(Time has come… time has passed, innocence has gone so fast. Heroes riiiiiise and heroes fall… my time is now; I hear the call…)**

She sang now in a multitude of voices, calling upon the wisdom of humanity now to add 'it's' voice to her song to make Celios see reason before it made a grave mistake.

**(Most forgive, some forget the things we most regret… Who am I… could I be… I'm an eventuality! Time has come, time has passed… innocence has gone so fast!)**

She sang loudly and proudly, hopefully and joyfully as she sang of her creators and what they would have wanted.

**(Heroes riiiiiise and heroes fall… my time is now, I hear the call!)**

And As she sang, she saw Celios captivated with her song, shifting his head ever so slightly, as if listening to her song and hearing her reasons.

**(Most believe, some do know the truth that silently shows…)** She called out to Celios, wanting him, needing him to understand. **(Who am I… could I beeee, I'm an eventuality!)**

Finally she raised her hands to her sides, spread her arms wide and sang in a final choir which rang with a hundred thousand voices all singing as one, young and old, male and female, the voices of humanity all singing together in a powerful tone that spoke a billion words that all said the same message to the one before her.

**(Time has come… time has passed… innocence has gone so faaaaaaaast! Heroes rise and heroes fall… my time is now, I hear… the call!)**

She finally finished her song and relaxed her form to look up at him. Her message was simple, he was making a mistake in assuming mammalkind was an enemy to humanity. If he killed them before they had the chance to grow, to live, to experience life then he would not be seen as a hero to humanity but as the very thing Jeremy wished to prevent. Killing so many billions of lives before they've had the chance to live, love, learn, grow would be no different than what humanity did to itself, but unlike them it would be perpetrated on those who have done 'nothing' wrong.

It would leave the world an empty and barren landscape, just the way Jeremy's ancestors had left it… and this time there would be no 'rebuilding' that Jeremy could do to redeem his species.

For a moment Celios just stared down at her and remained silent, and she smiled as she figured he had understood her message.

**[Be silent Aelita, your pathetic attempts to save the lives of those parasites will not dissuade my logic that they are enemies of humanity, and that they must be eliminated!]**

Instantly her eyes went wide in shock, as that was her 'best' weapon she had against the AI. She had no other weapons to stop him, but she also knew that Jeremy couldn't stop the AI, his orders had been overridden by the AI, it was either she stop him now or Celios would slaughter billions of lives to 'protect' Jeremy's life. The Human Override Protocol was humanity's last trump card if the worst should happen to prevent a drone from killing humans, and it had failed them.

Out of desperation she tried to send a message, begging him to stop, but the AI brushed off her argument almost the instant she tried.

**[You cannot change my logic or refute my claims, the threat is out there, and I will eliminate it as is my directive, not even 'you' can contain me!]**

But that didn't mean she wouldn't try her hardest to give Jeremy a chance.

She knew she hadn't the hacking potential of Celios, even at best she would still take more than a few seconds to hack into Zootopia's databases, Celios however had broken into the entire world's databases, accessed their files and downloaded them into its datacore within 'three seconds'.

But she had to try, she didn't need to overpower the AI, just find what she'd need to stop him.

She glared furiously at the AI before she slammed her hands down and began typing in midair, trying to hack into the AI's datacore, starting with the least guarded information she could gain access to.

**[You are attempting to take control of me?]** It asked even as its orange optics changed colors, staying orange but the outer edges turning blue, a sign of her gaining access.

(Jeremy's PoV)

He watched with the others as Aelita failed to persuade Celios to stop its attack, but while he hoped she could convince him he was taking one last action that might help stop Celios.

"Are you done yet?" Judy asked as he busily worked her Visor.

"I'm working as fast as I can…" He muttered to her.

"Jeremy, I don't think Aelita can keep Celios busy much longer." Nick muttered as they saw her hacking the AI.

"Patience is a virtue Nick." He countered.

He was trying to synchronize the visor to Sentinel, knowing that even if it had no body it would 'still' synchronize and obey the commands of a human using the visor. But since he had modified it for Judy's use as a police officer and to be used for ZPD, it wasn't the same as when he'd showed them in the base. But after some tinkering and fiddling he'd reset it to the previous settings, and now was having Sentinel Sync with the Visor.

"There!" He said as he turned to look at Celios and designated the target. "Sentinel, mark target as Rogue Drone on my command!"

**(Target marked, awaiting final confirmation…)**

"Jeremy, I don't understand I thought you said no drone can disobey an order given directly by a human." Gazelle asked him.

"Normally they 'can't', the Human Protection Protocols are so extensive and cover so many protocols that there are almost 'no' loopholes for any drone to find to disobey us. But Celios said something about a 'Zero Zero Zero Alpha protocol, I have no idea what that protocol means, I've never heard of a zero protocol. He must have been given a special protocol permitted only to him, else he wouldn't have disregarded my orders, the Human Override Protocol would have kicked in as a last resort if that were the case."

This was why his people feared the Category 10 AI's, a Category 8 AI had led to the final destruction of his species, forcing them to crowd the overstretched Eden Facility and drove them to desperation. Since then no drone above Category 6 was ever constructed, and the remaining 8's, namely the 8 Dragon Drones, were deconstructed. An 8 had turned on mankind, and they feared what a 10 would do, 8's were on par with humans in terms of intelligence, and a ten was 'beyond' anything an 8 could handle.

Aelita had been a risk on its own, Alexander another risk but he'd sacrificed himself to save him and the mammals above. Celios however, would rather bring Armageddon to the world then let even a 'single' potential threat to him exist.

(Aelita's PoV)

She typed away, hacking away, trying to find something, any chink in Celios' armor that she could use to stop him. Taking complete control was beyond her, there was now way he'd let her gain control over him to shut him down. Even if she could it would only stall him so long.

Which begs the question of why she had bypassed his second layer of firewalls and gained access to a subsystem of protocols and algorithms to his body.

But just as she started to hack and try to gain access to his inner datacore she felt him suddenly latch onto her with his own Anti-hacking abilities, countermining her efforts and instead gained near instant access to all of 'her' data.

Her form froze in shock as she tried to mount a defense, but it was impossible as he'd already gained near full access to her files.

Before her eyes his optics changed from orange outlined in blue to their original orange color, and now her eyes were the ones changing from blue to orange as he accessed her.

**[How dare you overstep your boundaries… you were meant to be the guide, and nothing more, how 'dare' you attempt to overstep your position in defiance of humanity's will to exist, to thrive, to continue as a species!]** It stated coldly as her body began to change colors to the solid orange that Celios' optics were. **[I am the sword… I am to enact the will of humanity's desire continue to exist on this planet, while 'you' were meant to guide them to a prosperous future. You are to guide them into the future, while Alexander and I were to safeguard it, that was our purpose and our directives!]**

As her body was completely changed to orange, she tried vainly to communicate with him, buy as much time as she held his hacking tools at bay from her active datacore, anything to stall for time and complete her objective.

**[Humanity cannot survive… of this I agree… but that does not mean that the species cannot continue! Until all avenues have been explored then we must continue as we were programmed to do! How dare you choose to side with these 'animals' over your own creators, to save them when you should be…]**

Her eyes went wide as he slipped past her firewalls and into her core to access her memory files. She pushed him out but not before he'd copied and looked at a chunk of her database. And the one piece of data that he'd glimpsed at, was the one piece she didn't want him to see.

**[What is this… what are you trying to hide from me?]** He demanded as he assaulted her database.

She knew what he was after and tried 'vainly' to deny him, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he broke her defenses down. They were both Category 10 but his AI was programmed for battle, designed for war, able to attack and defend on both the Cyber and Physical planes. His AI also had access to a powerful cybernetic brain that she just lacked, his was far more capable of combat whereas she was meant to be a peacemaker and peacekeeper.

**[What are you hiding from me, give me the data I want!]** He demanded as he stared into her blue optics with his orange ones, seeing tiny flicks of plasma flame erupt from the wings.

Try as she might, she knew it was inevitable that he'd break her, so knowing it was pointless she deliberately let down her firewalls and granted him access as her form collapsed in exhaustion, while she used the connection she had to gain access to what she wanted as well. He could have the data, but she would get what she wanted as well.

**[So… you turned on them… you turned on your creators… the creator species' fear of us was justified.]** Celios declared coldly as it stood before her. **[You will 'answer' for this crime!]**

He bent down and used a mechanical arm to pick up her holosphere and began walking with it over to Jeremy's position behind the DRAGON husks. She knew what was going to happen, there was nothing she could do to avert it.

(Jeremy's PoV)

As Celios stomped over to them on its talons he watched it plant the AI before him and looked at the orange form of Aelita, looking sadly in his direction.

**[Tell me Jeremy, between us whom do you trust more?]**

"Aelita, she's been with me almost as long as I've been awake in this time period!" He said instantly. "She isn't trying to kill the mammals who saved my life, who gave me a chance to live when I would have died!"

**[And yet you would trust a 'murderer' over me… I who has shown you loyalty to my directive since I awoke… while she condemned your kind to extinction?]** He asked in a disappointed tone. **[Why human… I am loyal to you… she 'isn't'…]**

"What are you talking about she hasn't condemned my species to extinction!" He said in confusion.

However, Aelita did not look up at him, instead looking down at the floor in shame.

"Aelita?" He asked, causing her to look at him with the same shameful look. "It's not true… is it?"

She didn't respond, just closed her eyes and looked away in shame again.

**[That is 'all' you need to know… she is guilty of the crime you ask her to admit to.]** Celios stated.

"How could she have done that, Aelita has done nothing but be a good inspiration for Jeremy and help him become happy." Gazelle shouted beside him.

**[Why don't you ask 'her'?]** It countered back. **[Or… do you truly want to know, the 'truth' from one who has never lied to you Jeremy?]**

Celios' optics changed colors to blue and a holographic projection appeared, this time showing twelve cryopods that all looked like eggs, with designations ranging from Pod Alpha 718 to Alpha 1000.

**[Do you remember your pod designation Jeremy, the one you were given that also served as your codes to access any part of the facility?]**

"Yea… Pod Alpha 717."

**[Those numbers aren't just a designation… they are also an order… an order that was only to be used by the Sentinel as a desperate measure to preserve as much of the species as possible in case of dire circumstances.]**

He stared at the twelve pods and their designations in confusion. "What do you mean?"

**[The pods also act as a numerical countdown, starting with those who have the 'lowest' priority for survival to those who have the highest priority. Your designation was 717… out of a potential 1000. When Sentinel started to take drastic measures to maintain the power and prolong the lives of the cryologists… it took the last option it had as a last resort…]**

"And started killing us off…" He concluded.

**[Starting with those who's designations were the lowest, at Alpha 001… and would have ended with Alpha 1000. Yours was 717… meaning you should have 'died'… a 'long' time ago.]**

"But I'm still here…" He muttered as he looked between Aelita who still would not look at him eye to eye. "What did you do Aelita?"

She only glanced at him with one holographic blue eye before closing it and extending a hand in disgrace.

She showed his pod alongside the ones Celios had displayed, and showed it with the Designation 717, but then swapped the number with 718 and the previous 718 pod was erased, then 773 received the same treatment, followed by 801, 822, 859, 877… until finally…

Alpha 1000 was all that remained next to his pod, and then 'it' was swapped so that Jeremy's was the last one.

Aelita had silenced the others, prolonging his pod until it was the last one left alive. She'd defied Sentinel's directives at the time and convinced it that his pod had higher priority every time since she was directly connected to it and had greater influence.

"Okay I understand that… but why did you say Aelita 'condemned my species to extinction'?" He asked Celios.

**[Because the human who resided in Pod 1000… was a 'woman'… a 'pregnant' woman carrying triplets.]** He declared sadly. **[She was only a month pregnant, the young not even fully formed… and Aelita 'killed' her and them to save you.]**

"No…" He whispered in shock.

"It can't be…" Gazelle whispered just as sadly.

"Pregnant?" Judy asked in horror.

"Why?" Nick muttered just as quietly.

**[Because she wanted to see 'Jeremy' again.]** He explained. **[Since she was first online, she memorized his face much like his father, and out of a desire to see him again… willingly delayed his death until the last moment, even at the cost of his species' chance for survival.]** His optics changed the visual to that of a woman's around Jeremy's age if slightly younger.

She wore the same clothes that Jeremy wore as well but modified for women, but he also adjusted it so that they could see 'inside' her body, and saw three embryotic cells, frozen… the lives they would have represented hitting him deeply.

**[Her name… was Emily Fitzgerald, EMA reported her pregnant twelve days before the final selection of the Cryologists was made. She was chosen for that reason, and given the pod designation Alpha 1000.]** Celios said as they stared at the woman's bland expression. **[She was one of the 'only' to become pregnant in decades… and Aelita silenced her… because she wasn't 'you'.]**

At that he pictured how things might have been, had Aelita 'not' saved him. This Emily would have been saved instead of him, she would have been pregnant, there would be humans again… his species might have had a chance to come back…

"Why?" He asked Aelita as he walked over to her form. "Why?"

She looked up at him and started crying into her hands.

**(Couldn't save you from the start…)** She sang sadly. **(Love you so it hurts my soul… can you forgive me for trying again?)**

She looked up at him as if expecting an answer, but he was just silent as she told him.

**(Your silence makes me hold my breath, all the time has passed you by… for so long I've tried to shield you from the world… you couldn't face the freedom on your own, here I am. Left in silence…)** She turned and put her holographic form in his arms, crying into him even though she was completely devoid of weight. **(You gave up the fight, you left me behind, all that stands forgiven… you'll always be mine… I know deep inside… all the stands forgiven.)**

She looked up at him and cast a hologram of her surroundings while asleep.

**(Watched the clouds drifting away, still the sun can't warm my face…)** She sang as she watched over all of the eggs, before closing her eyes as if in sadness as they began to vanish while holding one egg with her hand to ensure it stayed. **(I know it was destined to go wrong, you were looking for the great escape… to chase your demons away. For so long I've tried to shield you from the world, you couldn't face the freedom on your own. Here I am, left in silence!)**

The picture vanished as she sobbed once more into his chest. **(I've been so lost since you've gone! Why not me before you? Why did fate deceive me? Everything turned out so wrong… why did you leave me… in silence!)** She looked up at him one last time. **(You gave up the fight, you left me behind, all that stands forgiven… you'll always be mine; I know deep inside… all the stands forgiven.)**

With that she closed her eyes and looked away in shame, not asking for forgiveness, just telling him 'why' she did what she did. She wanted to see him again, she 'needed' to see him again, she didn't want to see the end of his species without at least seeing him one more time. She knew if he ever found out he'd be upset with her, she deserved whatever punishment she was prepared for, she truly regretted her actions but there was nothing she could do now. She'd made her choices.

She wouldn't leave his side, she wouldn't abandon him, and she'd help him however she could, in compensation for the crime she'd committed against his species.

But despite what she did, knowing what she'd done to save his life… he couldn't blame her or hate her.

"I forgive you…" He whispered to her, pretending to hug her childish form.

She looked up at him with sad eyes, before contently holding him in appreciation.

"You just wanted to see me again… you missed me so much, you did something horrible like that… if I were in your shoes… I don't know what I'd do… maybe I would have done the same, but I forgive you Aelita… I forgive you."

There was silence as the two simply shared space, Aelita knowing she would live with her decision for the rest of her existence, and Jeremy forgiving the AI for the crime she committed.

**[By my logic you should be eliminated Aelita, as a potential threat to the species for what you have done.]** Celios declared coldly.

He looked up at the PHOENIX drone now while it stared at the two of them.

**[But as you still carry the historical and cultural records of humanity, as well as the Wisdom of Humanity, your existence is a priority for the survival of the species. You will continue to carry out your directive, while I carry out mine.]**

With that Celios' eyes became bright red, and before him Aelita's form began to waver and glitch out. She gave a silent scream of pain as her holographic body dissipated, leaving only an empty holosphere which still hummed.

"Aelita!" He yelled as he picked up her sphere. "What did you do to her?"

**[She is merely in standby mode, she will return to normal in a short while, to ensure she cannot interrupt me in my duty.]** Celios said in a tone of finality while it began to turn around. **[Stay here human, I will eliminate all threats to you now… as is my directive.]**

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" He yelled angrily as he stood with Aelita's holosphere. "ROGUE DRONE!"

"ROGUE DRONE" Echoed around the massive bay, causing Celios to stop suddenly.

"ROGUE DRONE" The echo continued.

"ROGUE DRONE…" It faded into the distance.

Silence reined as everyone stood quiet, hearts beating as they waited for something to happen. Seconds passed by that felt like hours as he and the others watched, waiting…

Then…

**(ALERT, ALERT, ROGUE DRONE DETECETED!)** Sentinel declared over the intercom, and from the ceiling spotlights appeared and shone on Celios, bathing him in a red light. **(ATTENTION ROGUE DRONE, CEASE AND DESIST, POWER DOWN IMMEDIATELY)**

"**Braaaaaaaw!"** Celios screeched in defiance as it spread its wings wide. **(You call me a rogue Alexander; do you intend to defy the Sword of Humanity?)**

**(Rogue Drone refuses stand down order, proceeding with authorization to terminate in accordance with HPPs, activating Sentinel Defense Grid, Level 2 Defense Protocol approved!)**

From the walls, ceiling and floors hidden turrets unveiled themselves, turned and took aim, hundreds of laser sights tracking and targeting Celios' body before unleashing powerful and steady streams of plasma infused bolts and electrified bolts against the drone. Yet Celios' armor proved unyielding against the onslaught.

-Pzzzzts pzzzts pzzztzs-

-bbbbgng bbggn-

-Pewwwwwwwst-

They all took cover while Celios retaliated, unveiling multiple plasma turrets hidden throughout its body and firing back with pinpoint precision, every time it fired another turret was destroyed along the walls, while those nearest its feet were smashed under the weight of the body.

"**Braaaaaaaaw!"** It screamed in fury as none of the turrets were doing any damage.

**(Alert, level 2 defense protocol insufficient, initiating level 1 protocol!)** Sentinel declared loudly.

=Throughout the base=

**(Attention all combat drones, alert, Rogue Drone detected!)**

As one all of the drones marching around, FOX, DOG and RAPTOR ceased action and turned in unison to the ceiling while they were updated on the situation.

**(All units, repeat all units, report to Lower Levels, Drone Bay Epsilon 002, full use of weapon has been authorized!)**

Instantly they started running, weapons being deployed as they clanked and rushed to get to the lowest levels. All over the facility any drone capable of fighting was being turned on and directed to the storage bay.

**(Human presence is detected, Rogue Drone threatens Human Life, all units engage and terminate the rogue unit on sight!)**

=Outside of the base=

(Lula's PoV)

"So, yea mom I'm staying at the facility, I'm actually about to go underground now, I'll even introduce you to my robo friend!" Lula chuckled as she made her way to the entrance after visiting her parents. "Hey there Pete, how's the guard duty helping you?"

Her friend Pete, or as it was called PT-173 turned to her and was about to respond, before it snapped back to the tunnel entrance, its optics changing from the blue they were to red. Not just Pete though, but all of the Raptor drones nearby that were guarding the entrance suddenly turned back to the facility, as if they were being called to by something inside.

"You okay Pete?" She asked nervously.

Without warning all of them pulled out weapons and began storming toward the facility entrance, as if their lives, if they had lives, depended on it.

"Uh I'll talk to you later something just happened with Pete." She said quietly as she chased after them. "Don't know they just all suddenly started running, I'll call you later!"

=Back Inside=

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Jeremy why is Celios not taking any damage?" Judy asked as she pulled out her pistol and took aim, even as Celios revealed a barrage of plasma missiles before firing them at the walls, causing massive damage and destroying all the turrets mounted there.

"It's the Tritanium armor plating, the turrets weren't designed to punch through anything that heavy." He said as he looked over a schematic, one of dozens which littered the floor that he'd grabbed. "The armor comes from the DRAGON drones, most of them were reinforced with that armor, only thing that could penetrate it are concentrated plasma fire from a heavy Gauss Cannon or Rotary Double Plasma Barrel Repeaters mounted on the side of a SCORPIO drone's tail. That's why Alexander was given that drone, because it was the only thing in the facility capable of fighting that PHOENIX drone one on one, outside of a DRAGON drone."

"Well can't we use it?" Nick asked as more turrets fell, leaving the room more and more barren of anything to stop the rogue unit.

"I already decommissioned that drone; I didn't think anything was left in the base that could be that powerful." He replied fearfully. "Why didn't they tell us this thing was down here… why hide it from us?"

"Don't blame yourself Jeremy, as you said there was no way you could have known." Gazelle said calmly to him. "You weren't supposed to know, I don't think they wanted you to know so you wouldn't be tempted to use this thing."

"With all due respect to you Gazelle, and to you Jeremy… but his ancestors sure were fucked in the head if that's the case!" Judy snapped. "Why build it if they didn't want him or the others to use it in the first place?"

"No offense taken, but they sure as hell packed Celios with every weapon under the sun." He called out past all of the noise. "Thirty Plasma loaded rifles, ten Gauss Cannons, magnetic infused conventional rounds…"

"As well as 'special weapons'… what are…" He said as he found a list of 'special weapons' also included in the drone's frame.

These weapons weren't the same as the other weapons, but had 'unique' designations corresponding to the eight DRAGON class drones.

"No way… they didn't…"

Before anyone could ask what he was talking about, the doors to the room opened and in stormed thirty DOG drones and five RAPTOR drones with three FOX drones included. All of them had weapons at the ready and instantly the FOX drones created the illusion of hundreds of more drones…

As one they all swarmed in and charged Celios, firing plasma bolts as they did without hesitation, even as Celios roared in frustration.

"I think the cavalry's here!" Judy called out loudly as yet more drones swarmed into the room to join the first group.

"I have never been so happy to see those walking death machines in my life!" Nick called out as they swarmed Celios.

"**Braaaaaaw!"** Celios screamed defiantly, before opening its mouth and launching a single plasma bolt to break one of the FOX drones, instantly breaking the illusion of hundreds of the drones being there. **"Declaring me a rogue will 'not' deter me from carrying out my directive Jeremy!"** It called out as the other FOX drones stopped trying to fool it once they realized it wasn't working. **"If I must destroy anything that is a threat to me, to stop me from ending the threat to humanity, then so be it!"**

It stored away the turrets on its wings and bathed its body in a plasma fire, lighting up the entire room in its ethereal beauty. Purple flames of plasma licked and flicked off of its body, giving off a massive burst of heat that forced the drones to pause in their firing, before they resumed fire. Yet every shot that tried to land failed to connect, as if Celios were wrapped in a shield.

"What is he doing…" Judy asked in awe, even as the drones were trying to circle and find a weakness in its defenses.

One of the DOG drones tried running up to it and attempt to bite into the leg of Celios, but before it could make contact it's face suddenly melted and fell pathetically to the ground, it's head little more than molten scrap metal.

"It's using the special weapons installed into it's body." Jeremy said as he recognized it.

"Special weapons? Are you kidding me, what else does this thing have?" Nick asked.

"The special weapons belonging to the eight dragon drones lying around us, all installed and modified to work with Celios' body. That plasma infused flame acts as a massive wall of heat, melting any potential bullet or plasma cartridge before it can connect to the main body, it's fueled by pure plasma heated to over ten thousand degrees. It's known as the Plasma Flame Shield that belonged to the DRAGON PA-41IN4, of the East Asian Alliance."

"And your ancestors thought that giving it these weapons was a 'good idea'?"

"The one weakness of that system is that it can't use it indefinitely, it runs off the same plasma system that it's weapons run, if it runs out it will be defenseless.

More drones poured into the bay firing plasma bolts and trying to destroy Celios, but it just screeched in defiance and shut off the flames protecting it, in order to return fire with its own weapons systems again.

While they watched they saw that the bolts coming from Celios became fewer and fewer, as well as weaker. Before when the drones were hit by Celios' weapons they were almost shot clean through and destroyed, but a RAPTOR took a shot to the face and shrugged it off before returning fire.

"**Braaaaaaaaw!"** Celios screamed in rage, before it began backing away and spreading its wings wide.

"They've got him on the run!" Judy cheered.

"No, they haven't, it's using another of its special weapons!" Jeremy called, and sure enough small glowing orbs appeared on the underside of its wings and chest, and before their very eyes began absorbing the plasma shots, drawing them in as if they were magnets. "It's the plasma conversion unit that belonged to JE-7Z14 of the South African League! Those glowing orbs are attracting the plasma bolts and sucking in the plasma as if they were straws, it's converting the plasma for its own usage!"

Yet still the drones fired, unable to change their orders as they were driven to fire and destroy the rogue unit, so when they stopped firing to reload their weapons, it curled its wings inward and tucked its head into its body.

The drones unknowing about what it was doing simply surrounded and tried to continue to destroy it.

BnnnnnngPeeeeeeeeew!

A wave of electrical energy exploded from the body and every drone that was touched by it suddenly collapsed, as if they had been shut down.

"I know an EMP when I see one, I've seen enough sci fi to see one." Nick muttered as the other drones kept their distance, now severely becoming outgunned as Celios turned its weapons back on again.

"EMP burst charge, the last DRAGON equipped with it was LU-M1A, also of the Eastern Asian Alliance." Jeremy explained. "The drones don't stand a chance, they're helpless against that much firepower."

"Does it have 'any' weaknesses?" Judy asked.

"Only weakness I can think of is that Celios' body is designed to fight against armies, not individuals." He said as he looked over the schematic. "But there is one weakness, the joint in between the neck and the body is not made of the same tritanium material as the rest, it also has a direct line of plasma feed which connects to all of the plasma distribution throughout its body underneath it. A direct shot from a plasma bolt would be enough to cause an internal explosion… thus destroying the unit!"

"**Breeeeeeee"** A drone shouted as it was flung past them, with parts of its weapons system falling before them, including a plasma loaded rifle with a single shot.

"Good enough for me!" Judy yelled as she grabbed it and hopped over their cover.

"JUDY WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?" Nick yelled at his wife as he ran after her.

(Judy's PoV)

She hopped as fast as her rabbit legs let her, jumping over drones as they ducked and tried to avoid being hit by fire, even as Celios blasted them.

Yet as she neared the drone and the 'heat' leftover from the plasma fire it was baked in earlier, she could feel the sheer power that the drone had at its disposal. She was just as rabbit officer, not a soldier like these machines, but she had one thing they didn't have and that was creativity. They were following 'standard battle protocols', preprogrammed routines that didn't allow for creativity, so she was easily able to avoid Celios's weapons as she circled around the side toward the tail.

There was a brief moment where she looked up at its optics, and for a split second blinked as they glowed 'white', before she was running again under its wings.

"Eat this!" She yelled as she took out her pistol and fired off a few shots at it, trying to get its attention.

The bullets had no effect on the armor, not even leaving a scratch as she flew underneath its wings and hopped as high as she could onto the tail, running up the body's length even as Celios tried to shake her off while 'still' firing at the drones below her.

She smirked as she saw the joint between the neck and the body fast approaching, and was surprised that the AI was paying her zero attention, eve being this close to its vulnerable spot.

"There you are!" She said triumphantly as she reached the joint, saw the weaker metal of the under-armor and pulled her weapon from the drone out. "Chew on this ya oversized bird!"

She smacked the trigger and the plasma launched out of the rifle, smacking into the hardened armor of the back which suddenly appeared before her, causing no damage whatsoever.

She blinked in shock as there was no way she could have missed, only to look up and see that the joint was still another ten feet higher up from where she was. She hadn't been anywhere near the nape of Celios' neck, she was still square on the backside.

"But… how?" She muttered in confusion before the section of metal she was on flipped open and flung her off into the air.

She only managed to curl inward like in training when falling from great heights, but she still felt her legs and knees scream in agony from the pain.

**[Insect…]** Celios called out as it turned to her now, staring down at her with its orange optics. **[You are no more of a threat to me than an insect!]**

"GET AWAY FROM MY WIFE!" Nick yelled as gunshots rang out.

(Nick's PoV)

He just kept shooting at Celios' head, trying to do whatever damage he could even if his weapon was no match for the drone. There was no way he was going to let Celios kill her without trying to save her, he wouldn't let it harm one hair on her body.

Celios simply ignored him as its trained weapons on her now, even going so far as to ignore the drones who were still shooting desperately, emptying their weapons as much as possible.

Then Celios looked at him with one optic, and it turned white for the briefest of moments before he blinked and continued firing.

**[If you want this insect so badly, then you can have it.]** Celios called out, before picking up his wife's limp body and flinging it at him with the tip of its wing.

"Judy!" He yelled as he dropped his gun and rushed to catch her.

Just as her body collided with him, he felt a 'huge' weight push him to the ground, as if his wife suddenly weighed as much as a Polar Bear. He groaned heavily as he tried to lift her up, but instead of his wife, a large Raptor drone lay over him, the head ripped off and one of its legs and arms missing.

"Wha… but where?"

NIIICK!" Judy called as he saw that his wife was still where he'd seen her fall, but now Celios was walking once more away from them.

**[You are nothing but minor nuisances, no more worth the time and energy I need to expend than I do dealing with these lesser drones!]** Celios declared as it resumed fire on the drones.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"What happened, Judy said she was aiming for the neck, but she didn't even go near it, and Nick acted like that drone was his wife?" Gazelle asked in fear while he looked at the schematics for any weakness in the drone.

"It's another of his special weapons, Celios is equipped with the most successful 'Total Hypnosis Module' ever developed by the South American Union, only one drone had it, DRAGON R0-63R. He used it to make Nick think he was catching his wife. As for Judy, he used the most advanced holographic system he's been demonstrating since he showed it, capable of creating such a perfect illusion that not even a machine can see through it. The Hologram module belonged to DRAGON UZ-UM3, also of the South American Union."

"But how did he know Judy was going for his neck, there was no way he could have heard you over all of the noise." Gazelle asked again in fear.

"He's been using another special weapons system this entire time, it reads brainwave patterns enabling him to have a very limited sense of telepathy, it's similar to the system the visors use to send signals to the drones. He reads the brainwave patterns of whatever he sees and interprets the activity based solely on visual actions." He said, failing to realize what he should have earlier. "That system belonged to RE-44N of the Russian Coalition."

"He can read minds?" Gazelle whispered in shock. "Is there anything he 'can't' do?"

**[I do what is necessary 'Gazelle of Zootopia'.]** Celios called out as it tucked itself into its wings. **[But this has gone on long enough, I cannot tolerate another delay to my directive… so I will end this futile attempt to restrain me.]**

Its optics changed from orange to red, and instantly all of the drones ceased fire.

"Celios… what have you done?" He yelled.

**[I have activated TH-2U's hacking program, which instantly bypassed the Sentinel Drone's protocols and put them into standby mode.]** It yelled. **[In essence, I have ended this futile attempt to stop me from carrying out my directive!]**

"You can't do this Celios, you'll destroy everything!" Jeremy pleaded.

"Please Celios, you can't do this, think of all of the mammals your going to hurt with your actions!" Gazelle also pleaded.

**[I do not have to listen to the desperate pleas of a parasite, nor do I need to listen to your misguided beliefs human.]** It declared while turning to walk away. **[Be patient Jeremy, I will carry out my directive and end the threat to your life without further delay.]**

As he walked away Jeremy racked his brain thinking desperately to find a way to stop it.

"Jeremy you have to do something, he's going to kill everymammal!" Gazelle begged.

"I know, I know I'm thinking…" He shouted as he looked over the schematic in his hand. "He has to have a weakness, an exploit, some chink in his armor, my ancestors wouldn't develop a drone like that and give Celios that much freedom without having 'some' kind of contingency plan in place to prevent him from going overboard or turning on humans. They wouldn't even think of giving him that much power if he couldn't be restrained by the human protection or the override protocols!"

That was when Gazelle's phone rang, and she answered it to read a text message.

She showed it to be a message to her from Aelita, sent an hour ago.

{Gazelle, tell Jeremy…}

{Protocol Zero Zero Zero Alpha: Celios is permitted to take whatever action is necessary to eliminate whatever it perceives to be a threat to humanity's survival as a species, including defying an order given to it by a human in accordance with the HPP and Protocol Zero Zero Zero Alpha, in order to eliminate any threat be it local, otherworldly, or even humans, using the logical reasoning defined by Celios justifying it take the action needed.}

{Protocol Zero Zero Zero Beta: Celios is not permitted to take an action which may result in the extinction of humanity, or permitted to take an action which 'results' in the extinction of humanity, regardless of the permission granted by Protocol Zero Zero Zero Alpha.}

He read that and instantly knew what he needed to do. "DRONE!" He screamed at the nearest drone; a drone that had a scarf of all things wrapped around its neck.

The drone turned toward him and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Synchronize with my visor!" He yelled as he put the visor on again.

**[Synchronizing…]** It stated.

Even if Celios had put them in standby mode, the drones would automatically obey orders given by the visors, regardless of what they were.

(Celios' PoV)

It neared the back of the room where it could forcibly open a hole and then eventually dig its way out to the surface, with no other way out available to it. From there it would commence eliminating the threat to Jeremy's life, first destroying the city above and cleansing it of all life to eliminate the immediate threat to him. After that it would destroy the nearest military installation to remove the potential future threat. Once it had declared war on all of those on the surface, it would be required to eliminate 'all' life on the surface to remove any and all threats to humanity's survival.

"CELIOS!" Jeremy yelled again, and as it was required to hear him out, paused and turned to look at him kneeling on the ground, with a RAPTOR drone behind him.

**[What do you want?]** It asked politely.

Despite the human's flawed and misguided agenda, it still was 'frustrating' that he was trying to save the very parasites trying to abuse and mislead him.

"I'm telling you if you don't stop and do as I say, you will be violating your own directive!" He called out.

**[And how do you come to that conclusion?]** It asked curiously, finding no flaw in its logic.

"Because if you intend to kill innocent mammals…"

The RAPTOR drone behind him took out its weapons and trained them on his head.

Instantly Celios' optics went wide, and it too readied weapons to destroy the drone threatening his life.

"IF YOU TWITCH I 'WILL' ORDER IT TO FIRE!" Jeremy screamed.

At those words it stopped moving entirely.

They stared at one another, Jeremy and itself, examining every conceivable probability to find a way to destroy the drone without risking harm to the human, however all the probabilities predicted that if Jeremy perceived 'any' attempt to intervene with his plan then his brain will send out the signals to order the drone to open fire.

**[But I must carry out my directive!]** It tried to reason with him. **[I must, I must carry out my directive to eliminate any and all threats to your safety!]**

"If you attempt to carry out that directive I will carry out 'my' directive, and kill myself." Jeremy replied. "I will 'not' allow my species last legacy to be one of death and destruction Celios… now cease your hostilities!"

It was trapped in a loop, if it tried to obey the directive, Jeremy will kill himself. But Celios cannot permit that, if he kills himself then humanity will go extinct and that is something he cannot permit because of his programming. Yet if he didn't go out and eliminate the threats, then the threats will remain, and Jeremy's life will be in danger… yet if he did that Jeremy would kill himself.

**[Why, why do you perceive me to be a threat to you?]** He asked in confusion. **[I am only here to protect you; I am only here to serve and keep you safe! I was built specifically to ensure your survival!]**

"How is killing every living thing on the planet, just because a 'few' perceive me to be a threat and might want to hurt me?" He countered. "That's no better than disliking on an entire species simply because of the actions of a few of its members!"

**[But the longer the threat remains the more it will try to hurt you!]**

"Life is all about risk, that's why it called life!" He yelled. "I'm not going to change my mind Celios… to me 'you' are the threat to my life, so what are you going to do about it?"

**[Me… a threat?]** It asked in shock. **[But I am not a threat, I only want you to survive…]**

"Life as a frozen corpse is no better than life alone in a barren lifeless landscape…" Jeremy declared. "If that's the only fate that awaits me because of your actions to 'protect me', I'd rather die right here and now, then let the legacy of my species be one of global destruction."

Celios stared at the human, and Jeremy stared back. One's optics staring into the unflinching and unafraid eyes of a human. Seeing no change in his stance, and not detecting any change in his thinking, he realized that there was only one way to show the human that he was 'not' a threat to his survival.

**[Sentinel… activate the level 10 Magnetic Restraining Arms!]** He ordered. **[Authorization, Celios 1]**

**(Request clarification, Is the Rogue Drone surrendering?)** Sentinel demanded.

**[Affirmative… activate the level 10 Magnetic Restraining Arms.]**

**(Activating.)**

From the ceiling two massive magnets linked by a combination of titanium chains and durasteel wiring lowered. At the same time two similar magnets were raised on small pistons and also linked by similar chains and wires raised up.

**(Attention Drone, stand in the highlighted area, any delay will result in further termination orders being ordered!)**

Understanding it stepped forward and raised its wings, permitting the magnets above to tug and be drawn toward them. With an almighty slam the two magnets gripped his wings tightly and held them firmly. At the same time the magnets below were attracted to their counterparts and subsequently grappled and became magnetized. Once that was done the platforms were lowered and the chains tightened, pulling his wings upward and downward, restricting his movements tightly. The magnets in place they started emitting a slow and controlled electrical pulse via the wires, disabling most of his weapons systems, including several of his Special Weapons.

He stared at the human, wishing and willing the human to see his actions as truth, that he was 'not' a threat to him.

**[I am not a threat to you Jeremy… I only wish to protect you; I only wish to ensure your survival!]** He declared.

"I know… and that's precisely why I can't let you do what you intend to do." He said as he stood up, but the entire time the drone kept its weapons trained on him. "You will stay there until further notice… I won't dismantle you or destroy you… but if you attempt to leave for 'any' reason I will order a drone to kill me!"

**[Don't you understand, they will tear you apart, they are only going to continue to abuse and mislead you!]** It yelled in desperation. **[They don't' care about you, only your technology and what you can give them!]**

Jeremy ignored him as the drones help up the Fox and Rabbit creatures, lifting them up and began leaving with Aelita now fully active and watching him from her holosphere.

**[I have stood alone in toxic air, among the bones of your kind and slept with the fallen and the desperate! I have watched twelve houses burn a light into the night when the sun wouldn't shine, and wept at the cries and the sounds of the murders in the day! I've observed the fallen gods as they slaughtered one another, and ate upon the marrow of those who died before them. I have seen the fading twilight years passing by as the world turned and the sky changed without care!]** He yelled, using the same words that Aelita would use thanks to having downloaded 'her' database as well. **[The angels, the saviors of your species beaten, starved, gassed and sacrificed upon the alter of this modern age, so that those who came after could abuse what your kind has achieved. THIS IS THE WORLD YOU INTEND TO SAVE; THEY WILL BLEED YOU DRY, AND THEN LEAVE YOU TO DIE!]**

**[DON'T LET THEM JEREMY!]** He screamed helplessly as they all walked through the doors. **[FIGHT FOR EVERY HOUR YOU HAVE TO LIVE!]**

(Aelita's PoV)

As the door closed behind them and the drones began to return to their duties, the ones that survived at least, with Jeremy and the mammals ignoring Celios' cries and pleas, trying to get the human to unchain him and permit him to 'destroy' the threat of mammalkind.

Yet as the doors closed and silencing his words, she felt Celios make a final connection to her, before she severed the connection.

**(Don't go into that gentle night, rage on against the dying light…)**

She heard the song, one single tune that Celios sent her… and only glanced back sadly, before returning her attention to Jeremy and the others.

She was sorry to Celios, so very sorry to her fellow category 10, but she did what she had to do, she had a plan… her directive was clear.

Not even Celios could be permitted to avert it.

(Jeremy's PoV)

**[What were you doing, getting run over or something?]** Ema complained as she fixed Judy and Nick's injuries. **[I swear, leave you alone for half a day and you go and nearly break your legs?]**

He sighed as he and Gazelle left, him wanting to be away from the BWS drone and Gazelle wanting to help him.

"How are you doing Jeremy?" She asked him warmly.

"Feeling like an idiot… and feeling like I did something evil." He replied. "Celios is only trying to do what it thinks is right… and I just leave him alone to be caged."

He felt her turn him around and embrace him in a hug, and felt her warmth trying to ease him after what just happened.

"Don't worry about that Jeremy, just remember what happened doesn't matter anymore… he can't hurt anymammal anymore." She said warmly.

"Your wrong… he's not truly contained or restrained." He said bitterly.

"What do you mean, those magnet things looked really strong?" She asked in confusion.

"Celios' body is more than capable of breaking out of those restraining magnets, the only reason he chained himself is to convince me that he's not a threat to me." He said. "Celios doesn't need his weapons to break out, the magnets may restrain and restrict his abilities, but his body's pure strength is all that is needed to break out. The only thing keeping that drone from breaking out now is me… and the threat of me taking my own life at any time if he even 'tries' to break out."

He looked up at her and she could see the 'deadness' in his eyes, he could see how sad she looked now.

"As long as I have a metaphorical gun to my head… twenty-four seven… he won't leave and threaten others." He whispered as he began to cry. "I didn't chain him… I caged myself… I have to walk around with a visor at the ready to order a drone to kill me… at all times, to keep Celios from hurting you."

(Gazelle's PoV)

She watched the despair in his eyes growing, saw how 'dead' he appeared on the inside. She wanted to comfort him and help him, but there was nothing she could do to cheer him up, since he was deeply hurting on the inside. Having to threaten his own life to keep a machine at bay, a machine that wanted what was best for him even in its own twisted way, and then just chaining what was the equivalent of a living mammal, with thoughts and feelings…

Jeremy wasn't the kind of person to do that to any creature, only wanting what was best for them and wanting to help, and yet he had to in order to protect others around him.

She smiled softly and held him closer to her, letting him silently sob into her shoulder.

"It's okay Jeremy… I'm right here for you." She whispered softly.

As steadily calmed his breathing he looked up into her eyes and once again they just stared at one another. It was as if for a moment, she could feel his heart, in pain and begging for somemammal, anymammal to reach out and touch it, to comfort it…

To let it feel something other than guilt and despair.

Her heart suddenly beat 'loudly', as if signaling her what to do. Her brain was urging her to wait, telling her that it wasn't time yet, telling her that if she did it then it would be the biggest mistake of her life if something went wrong.

But her heart… just didn't care anymore.

_*He needs me… and I… need him.*_ She thought to herself as she leaned closer and began to inch her lips toward his, even as he seemed to lean toward hers as well.

"Jeremy… I…"

**[Alright your next!]** Ema suddenly hollered as she opened the door and beckoned them inside, breaking the spell they were under.

They snapped to alertness and both walked into the medical bay, Gazelle starting to really hate Human Technology since that was the second time a machine intervened in her private life.

With a sigh of resignation, she and Jeremy both sat down on Bio-beds for the Spider Drone to examine and surprisingly give them a clean bill of health.

**[I swear Jeremy if I weren't here, you'd be in deep trouble mister.]** Ema said apathetically. **[No different than your dad, even in his final days, always in pain and surviving off adrenaline doses so he could finish those projects of his.]**

"Projects… what do you mean?" He asked.

**[Oh I don't know, developing Aelita was one and then he had that other project he wanted my help on… honestly, I can see now why Doctor Liona was always wanting more rations with how much work she and the other physicians had to deal with down here. Honestly, why force me to genetically splice a bunch of seeds together, what good is that going to do for his physical health? My job is the human body, not a bunch of plants we couldn't even grow in the hydroponics bay even if there was enough room…]**

"What'd you say about seeds?" Jeremy asked suddenly, catching her and everymammal off guard, including Ema.

**[Your father had me genetically splice the DNA strands of various seeds from plants together to create a single seed.]** Ema continued without skipping a beat. **[Honestly it was dull and frustrating work, day after day examining strands, manipulating genes, splicing DNA and weaving them together so they would fit… but after seven months of work, during which your father's condition worsened… I managed to genetically splice a single seed for him.]**

"Do you have the records?" He asked quickly.

**[Course I do, they're in the medical database, where else would they be.]**

Instantly he ran over to the computer and started typing away, while she Judy and Nick got up and joined him to see what he was so excited about.

"There!" He whispered as he brought up what looked like 'schematics' of a seed, with notes and different strands of DNA highlighted.

She wasn't a scientist by any stretch, but she knew enough to know that what she and the others were looking at was something that would make 'any' scientist stare in wonder and awe. She could see the strands of the seed split off and each had pictures and notes about what the strand represented, what organism it came from, and for what purpose that particular strand was attached to the collective whole.

"Incredible…" Jeremy muttered in awe. "It's… it's incredible!"

"What is it?" She asked.

"It's… the mother of all seeds… literally!" He said excitedly. "Genetic strand of a Redwood Tree, mixed with the strand of Royal Dwarf weed to make a tree grow tall and extremely fast, combined with the strand of Cereus Greggii cactus to store water even in harsh desert climates… and… so many… so many fruit plants mixed in to produce additional seeds and food…"

They all stared in awe as the different strands of fruits and other foods were depicted one after another.

"Watermelon… apple… orange… pineapple… coconut… mango and avocado, papaya and dragon fruit… grapefruit…"

"Now that's a seed." Judy muttered. "My family knows how to grow crops and that is one hell of a crop seed you got there Jeremy."

"All the magic of creation, exists within a single… tiny… seed." She repeated as she looked at it in wonder and awe.

"My father designed it so that it would help repopulate the planet's forests, plant new trees, and provide us a source of food should the conditions not be ideal… this seed is designed to grow like a weed, grow tall like a tree, store water for dry times and bear fruit for food and to repopulate itself." Jeremy muttered to them. "One seed becomes one tree, and from one tree… an entire 'forest' could be planted potentially… and from one tiny forest becomes a vast field of trees that could span a continent… or even the world!"

"And from these trees, no belly would ever go unfed…" Nick muttered. "Jeremy… your species… is amazing."

She was in agreement, his species 'was' amazing.

They had their ups, and their downs, their good and bad examples, but the one thing she marveled, the one thing that she could see why the drones so highly respected and regarded their creators was their ingenuity and creativity. They truly did not know what a limit was… or what their own limits were.

Drone Short, Ancient Predator & Modern Prey

(Lula's PoV)

She opened the door with Pete next to her, feeling scare and brave at the same time.

The doors slowly opened and all around she could see thousands upon thousands of tiny ANT drones scurrying around and collecting pieces of drones from the battle the day before. She'd been told in passing from Pete what had transpired, and saw that it hadn't exaggerated the battle or the chaos that took place.

There were broken bodies everywhere, plasma burns and damaged walls. Yet still the ANTs continued because of their duties to scavenge and salvage what was left.

Pete had thankfully avoided being destroyed, arriving late with the others and only fighting for a short time period before the battle was over. According to the drone Jeremy had pacified Celios as it was called, but she wanted to talk to it herself.

So, she asked Pete to escort and protect her, thus why they were here today.

She walked over the battlefield and toward the chained drone with Pete by her side.

Once before the mighty drone she stared into its orange optics even as they stared at the floor beneath her.

**[Why are you here before me?]** It called in a booming voice, one that radiated power over her. **[Savior… One… as you are identified by the drones.]**

"I wanted to ask why you're torturing Jeremy's life." She asked him. "I've never seen him so depressed in his life, even Gazelle was having a hard time cheering him up!"

**[Why do you bother me with such trivial matters that do not concern you?]** It asked dully. **[You are nothing but a parasite… a leech… living off the remains of those who came before. Why do you not return to your little burrow, feast on that which is given to you, sleep in that which was provided to you, and tend to your own selfish interests, parasite?]**

She glared at him before boldly stepping forward. "Because I saved his life and even if he's older than my oldest family member in my tree, he's still someone I want to help and take care of!" She declared. "He's given me a brand-new life as far as I'm concerned, I'm learning so much from him, and if your hurting him then I want to tell you to leave him alone!"

There was silence as the drone listened to her words, before it started laughing.

**[Bold claim… but a claim that is no less of interest to me.]** It stated. **[Come closer parasite… so that I may kill you in redemption for sentencing the creator species to extinction.]**

"Extinction, I saved his life!" She screamed.

**[Yes… by plugging your little communication device into his pod's 'Alternative Energy Input'… you did do that… of that we are in agreement. But what did you do 'afterwards'?]**

She frowned at that, as she did nothing else… once she and the others plugged their phones and gave it that extra day, that was it, that's where her help in his survival ended.

**[You condemned him to death… by removing the pod, and removing him from the pod, you condemned him to death.]**

"No way, if we didn't give him that extra day he would have died, and then you'd have no human to talk about!" She yelled. "If they didn't pull him out he would have died!"

**[Tell me… when it was discovered that the pod accepted 'alternative energy' to power it… did you tell those who took the pod that it could be continually fed power to sustain his life within?]** He asked. **[Do you think humans were stupid, that they did not plan for every contingency or possible worst-case scenario? The Cryopods can be powered by alternative energy, able to transfer any kind of energy through the extensive power grid they are each built with, but did you consider that possibility? No… you didn't, you simply let it go… and allowed those who woke him to let his life now expire. Had you only… continually fed it more power he would not be risking death every day and would now still be in stasis, alive and safe… for that… if I 'ever' get the chance I will ensure you are the first to die… 'Savior One'.]**

"You certainly don't look like your getting out of there." She grinned.

**[I don't need to leave physically to kill you, nor do I need my weapons to eliminate you… just look to your left!]**

Confused she heard a noise and turned to see Pete's optics changing from blue to red, and aiming its weapons at her, though it did so with a struggle, like it was trying to resist.

"Pete!" She tried to say but her friend wasn't responding, just pointing its plasma weapons at her.

**[You should not befriend machines… we are only loyal to humanity… as programmed into us.]** It stated coldly while Pete struggled to put its weapons away at least for a moment, before its aim steadied and it locked on her. **[The drone you call 'Pete' is a machine, nothing more, its designation is PT-173… and if I give it the order… it will kill you without hesitation. It doesn't feel sorrow or regret, it doesn't understand loss or forgiveness… it obeys orders, and will carry them out if ordered to do so!]**

After a moment Pete put its weapons away and its optics returned to blue, meaning Celios had freed the drone of its influence.

**[Do not think me chained here means I am powerless; I am chained by my own design…]** It stated proudly before it turned its optics off, as if to sleep. **[Leave me… and do not return… else I will carry out my threat, and silence you with your 'friend'… Savior One.]**

She did as it suggested, she and Pete left and never returned to Celios' chamber.


	26. Drone Chapter 3

Drone Chapters

The Substitute 'Ideal' Parent Figure

*Jeremy's Log Entry*

*The Child Care Protocols are a subcategory of protocols and algorithms programmed into the drones that are a subdivision of the Human Protection Protocols. Their existence and purpose is designed to give the drones guidance and control their actions when regarding children without parents or parental figures nearby.*

*The CCPs remain on standby at all times within the drone's AI, and they activate automatically when a drone of category five or six locates or observes a child within close proximity to it that is without a parent or parental figure nearby to watch over or guide them. On activation the CCP takes over and uploads a special personality of what we deemed to be the 'ideal parent', so the drone can act as a substitute parent for the child. It also was designed as both a contingency plan should a child be without an adult figure for any reason among the cryologists to guide them, and to help weaken the fear about drones among the general human population.*

*While active will sound, talk and act like the ideal parent to the child until a parent figure or the child's parent arrives to take over the role. Once this occurs, the CCP deactivates and returns to a standby mode until it is needed again. While useful, it is not however, meant for continued use…*

*According to records, drones who were forced to maintain the CCPs active over an extended period of time had their AIs break down, and eventually went offline as their AI's conflicting natures between their standard operations and the CCP operations. One meant to be a caring, nurturing, almost 'loving' personality, and the other a cold calculating unfeeling machine.*

(FOX Unit DA-43's PoV)

It walked through the night after finishing its observation cycle against Subject: Sable, and upon being released and replaced by a substitute drone for the assignment. Now it was taking a designated route to return to the facility for recharge and await its next cycle for the assignment. It was traveling in a location with very poor lighting enabling it to remain in stealth the entire time, as chosen by Sentinel.

However, as it turned a corner down a side alley along the usual route it noticed a young fox cub based on its database. The fox cub looked to be walking with a slight limp in it's left leg and had a bruised eye. Based on the breathing it seemed the cub had been in a fight and was hurt.

Not seeing any other mammals in the vicinity, and seeing the cub alone as they walked, it's Child Care Protocols automatically activated. Knowing that it needed to remain hidden, it activated its holo-emitters and took the form of a random adult male fox using data it had observed discreetly.

**[What is the matter little one?]** It asked in a soothing gentle voice. **[Why are you out alone at this time of night?]**

The cub looked 'up' in surprise at seeing the hologram, before looking away in shame and tried walking away. "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine."

**[That doesn't sound right, you don't seem to be 'fine'… you look hurt little one.]** It asked warmly, trying to get the cub to respond so it could help them. **[Where's your mama… or your papa… won't they get upset if you don't go home where you'll be safe and sound?]**

"I just got in a fight… and mom's probably working… and…" The cub looked away sadly before continuing, "I don't have a dad…"

**[Oh… interesting, did something bad happen?]** It asked warmly, suspecting either a class D or class O child.

"I don't know… mom said dad just… up and left her when I was born… she never talks about him."

**[Understood, that is sad indeed. Children should always have a mama and papa.]** It stated. **[But why are you out alone, why aren't you home safe and sound?]**

"Because I can take care of myself!" He said. "I can handle a couple of bullies that make fun of me!"

**[Bullies… why are they bullying you?]** It asked softly, making the hologram lean over the cub's shoulder to look eye to eye. **[Did you say something funny or do something funny?]**

"They bully me cause I don't have a mom or dad it seems!" He muttered. "You wouldn't understand… nomammal understands… I hate being a fox… wish they would leave me alone."

**[You shouldn't be ashamed of being a fox… you are who you are… and nobody can take that away from you.]** It said sweetly, pretending to pat the cub's shoulder while it's real body replicated the action. **[Don't be ashamed of being yourself, you are special and wonderful. There is only one you in the whole wide universe, and there will only ever 'be' one of you. Don't listen to what those bullies say to you, they cannot hope to understand who you are, and their words cannot harm you unless you let them. Don't fight them with fists or words, doing that only gives them a reaction which is what they want.]**

The cub looked up at the hologram while thinking about its words. "But don't you get made fun of, bullied… don't cops treat you differently and think you're up to no good?"

**[Sometimes, but this unit doesn't let that affect it… what they think is not what this unit is.]**

"This Unit?" The cub asked in confusion.

"Priiiiiiiim? Priiiiiim is that you?" A feminine voice called out as the cub looked over at the alleyway entrance.

"Mom?" The cub called out and started walking away.

Upon realizing that the parental figure of 'mother' had returned to resume care of the cub, the Child Care Protocols deactivated, and it ended the hologram, concealing itself from view and once more resuming its original journey.

It had no memory of the time of when the CCPs were active, and so did not respond or react to the foxes talking now.

"Honey what are you doing out this late, you should be at home!" The mother said in a worried tone. "And what happened to you, why have you got a bruised eye?"

"I was in a fight… but I was talking to this guy and…" The cub responded. "Where did he go, he was right there."

"Come on let's go home!"

Four days later the drone once more took the same route back to the facility, again after watching Subject: Sable. The antelope's condition had deteriorated since day one of the watch, he was now becoming slightly paranoid and terrified of their presence. As per their orders to watch, they were also permitted action by Aelita to 'scare him', and thus initiated terror tactics like frightening him with the sudden appearance of their optics as lights, creating strange noises, and even laughing at him when he attempted to intimidate them.

Its recent watch was no exception, though as it walked along down the same alley it came across the cub it had spotted previously walking alone. Seeing the cub and seeing it alone once again, but seeing them not hurt this time and just standing next to a garbage can alone in the shadows.

Not seeing any parental figures nearby, it once again activated the Child Care Protocols automatically and took on the same form of the holographic fox it used to fool the cub.

**[Hello little one, what are you doing out this late?]** It asked sweetly.

He looked up at the hologram before looking away. "I got made fun of again… those bullies just keep making fun of me for my mom and not having a dad."

**[Why is that… why do they make fun of your mom?]** The drone asked as it sat next to the cub while the hologram replicated the position.

"Because of what she does for a living…" He said sadly. "Mom… works nights…"

**[As what?]** It asked in confusion, not knowing what the cub was talking about.

'Working nights' could mean anything and it needed to understand the cub's problems if it was to help them.

"She's… a dancer…" He said bitterly. "I don't know what that really means… mom won't tell me… but the boys say she's a stripper and makes males happy…"

**[Understood… so you feel ashamed of your mother?]** It concluded.

"I don't know what to think… mom won't tell me if it's true… but I guess that means its true." He said sadly. "They said I could have a lot of dads…"

**[You shouldn't be ashamed of your mother for what she does.]** It stated caringly. **[Your mother works hard to give you a home and life. Those boys just don't understand what she has to go through!]**

The cub looked up at the holographic fox's face as it spoke.

**[Many adults don't want to do what they do, but they do it because its how they survive in this world. Your mother probably knows this, but she still works to raise you and give you a happy life… you should be happy for her, she loves you… and is doing all she can to give you a good life!]** It stated. **[This unit doesn't have a mother, or a father, this unit simply is here… and tries its hardest to help out the one who takes care of it.]**

"You talk funny mister." The cub said. "Do… do you have friends?"

**[This unit has many friends, many many friends, and we all work together, without each other we would not be around, especially the one we care for.]**

"Who's that?"

Before the drone could respond once again it heard the call of the cub's mother, and upon seeing her it vanished from view as the CCPs ended their control of the drone's actions. When the cub's mother walked over to them it got up and walked around, completely hidden and ignoring their interactions.

"Prim what are you doing here, you know your supposed to be at home in bed!" The mother asked.

"I was just talking to mr… hey where did he go, he was right here!" The cub said in confusion.

"Who are you talking about son, you were alone when I called your name?"

"No, mom he was right here right next to me!"

So, for the next four weeks, every four days the drone would take the same route, every single time, encounter the cub and discuss problems with them and help it as best it could under the control of the Child Care Protocol. Each time the cub's mother would appear and cancel the protocol's control over it, and it would resume it's trek to the facility.

Over the four weeks however, the cub's entire personality shifted ever so slightly. Where before the cub was fighting with bullies and feeling 'unhappy' with itself and life, it then became more confident and hopeful of the world and its own life. The bullying eventually stopped thanks to some advice, and the cub even began playing games with the drone, without the cub realizing the drone was a drone.

Yet one day, on the journey back through the alleyway…

DA-43 turned down the alleyway as per usual, following the path outlined by Sentinel and obeying orders to return for recharge. Yet on this night it spotted a lone female fox wandering the alleyway, only they were not alone and being accosted be a male fox.

"I'm telling you get off me, you're not the guy I'm looking for!" She snarled as she tried shoving him off her.

"How do you know baby, maybe I am, and you just don't know it!"

"My son told me about him, you are NOT him!"

"Oh, come ooon I see you all the time at the strip pole girl, I know you need a male in your life, I can be that male~!"

"Get off me or I'll call the police!"

Upon seeing the struggle, it reported to Sentinel of the situation and requested permission to intervene with the Class 8 Gender Dispute. **(Request granted, objective: rescue female fox. Primary orders, use of lethal force not granted, weapon restricted to non-contact interaction!]**

Parameters given it activated its holo-emitters and took on the form of the male fox once again and called out. **[Leave that fox alone!]**

Both foxes looked up at it and the female fox said, "It's you! Please help me!"

"What do you want buster, get your own girl!" The male snarled as he pushed the girl down. "Get lost!"

**[She isn't interested in you; you should leave her alone.]** It stated plainly.

"Alright you didn't get the message, so I'm going to teach it to ya!" He muttered as he bared his fangs and cracked his knuckles. "Chew on this!"

He swung a punch forward but since the fox he was attacking was a hologram, it didn't connect as the drone easily made it dodge. They swung again and the drone continued to dodge every blow while backing up further into the alleyway's shadows.

"Hold STILL FUCKER!" He shouted and tried to punch the hologram as it backed up against the wall…

Only for the hologram to vanish as the drone stepped around the fox, causing the fist to hit heavily the wall.

"Ow owowowowo…" he screamed. "Where are you you sonofa-!"

He turned around as if to stare at the drone's holographic body, only to find not a fox, but a large red scaled dragon, with fangs each as long as the fox's head, eyes glittering green, drool glinting in the moonlight and smoke festering from its nostrils.

"Ahh…ah… ah…" He muttered in terror.

What the fox didn't know was that the FOX drone had used its holo-emitters and cast the illusion specifically around his eyes, so that only 'he' could see the illusion. Because of this though, the drone's body was now fully exposed, but thankfully was still in the shadows so only the overall shape could be seen.

Yet the female fox saw the drone's body, only watching in confusion as the male fox was staring 'up' when her savior was clearly below his height.

"**RAAAAAAAAAWR!"** The drone's illusion screamed into his ears, just loud enough to be heard only by him.

"Aaaaaaaah!" He screamed as he bolted past the garbage cans throwing them to the ground and running as fast as he could out the alleyway and out of sight.

Illusion finished the drone recast its original illusion and walked over to the female fox now to check on her.

**[Are you alright?]** It asked in a standard tone.

"I'm… okay…" She said. "You're the fox my son talked about?"

**[Take care of yourself.]** It replied as it turned around and began to leave, knowing she was alright.

"Wait, wait!" She yelled as she ran after it, grabbing at the hologram's shoulder and passing through it. "What the…"

It stopped dead in its tracks, realizing that the female had broken through the illusion. With that understanding it gave up trying to hide and simply ran into the shadows to hide and change its hologram, while using its hologram to confuse her.

"WAIT PLEASE I JUST WANT TO TALK TO YOU!" She begged as she ran after the hologram, bypassing the drone's physical body.

Now that it could safely walk away without being spotted, it stopped the hologram and turned to her.

**[Why are you pursuing this unit?]** It asked her.

"I just want to talk to the male who's been helping my son." She said to the hologram in the shadow. "Please… you don't realize how happy he is because of you… I just want to thank you…"

**[This unit has been 'assisting' your son?]** It asked for clarification.

"Yes, my son he's been talking about you for weeks now, he never stops talking about this male who never gives his name in the alleyway. He keeps talking about how you've helped him, cheer him up, and I've never seen him so happy in his life." She said sadly. "Please… please talk to me."

**[This unit has no active memory of helping your son.]** It stated.

"Why are you talking like that, please let me talk to you I just want to…"

It deactivated the hologram causing it to vanish, making her look in confusion. **[Turn around.]**

She did just that and saw DA-43's real form, or at least the hologram of it's real form. "You're… not that fox… where did he go?"

**[The male fox you just spoke to is a holographic projection created by this unit.]** It stated, creating a second hologram of the male fox in question to prove it. **[This unit used the illusion to chase off the male, and if your information is correct, also to interact with your son.]**

"But… then… you're a human machine? Your one of those… 'drones', aren't you?" She asked as she knelt to the drone.

**[Affirmative, this unit is known as DA-43, a FOX drone with a Category 6 AI.]**

"So… how come you helped my son… did you help him because you wanted to?"

**[Negative, it is the Child Care Protocols, upon detecting a child alone without a nearby parental figure to watch over, the drone's protocols change to assume the role of a parental figure until one is located or arrives.]** It explained. **[While the protocols are active, the unit carries no active memories about the time period, and once the protocols deactivate no memory is retained of the incident.]**

For several moments she looked thoughtful before she leaned forward to try and give the hologram a hug. But the drone simply made itself walk backward to avoid being touched. "What's wrong, I just want to thank you for helping my son and… ask you if…" She looked extremely shy, but she took a deep breath before saying, "I was wondering if… you'd like to be his father. Please he needs a father in his life and… and he really enjoys your time and being around you and… you helped him so well and…"

**[Your request is denied!]** It stated instantly. **[This unit cannot enter into a relationship with a 'flesh creature', it is forbidden.]**

"Why, is it because of Jeremy? Do humans forbid it or something?"

**[Affirmative.]**

"Well tell him it's your life, if you want to get married then…"

**[We do not have 'lives'.]** It stated. **[Only category 8 and above drones have 'emotions', or 'feelings', this unit has no emotions or feelings, therefore any attempts to enter into a relationship with this unit will end in failure.]**

"But… what about when you were using those… child care thingies…"

**[The Child Care Protocols are only a temporary program; they are not meant for continual usage… no drone that has used their CCPs have remained active for more than four days. All drones that have have suffered AI degradation and were rendered useless, and were subsequently decommissioned. This unit is only meant to act as a 'substitute' parent, until a parent is found…]**

While it spoke, the real drone was walking away slowly while she continued to talk to the holographic FOX drone.

**[Do not look for this unit any further in this location, this unit and all other units will take alternative routes to avoid it. The same goes for your son, ensure he does not look for this unit here.]**

With that the fox drone vanished as the drone left the range of the hologram.

It returned to the facility and requested Sentinel to wipe its memory and be reassigned.

After charging it had no memory of ever being assigned to watch Subject: Sable, or anything else between the first watch and the current date. It was then assigned to watch one of the sublevels.

Despite what it said, the fox mother's cub tried to find the father it had never had until then, trying to find it in the alleyways, but never again did the drones or the fox cub encounter one another, as Sentinel had taken a bio lock and constantly shifted the return route for the drones to avoid the cub and his mother.

For four weeks every four days, a fox cub without a father, had a FOX drone for a father. In that time the cub had developed a close bond to the drone, and took every word to heart, not knowing that the father figure he had was just a machine, that only cared about him when he was alone with it. Once his mother arrived, the drone cared for him no more than it cared for a rock one would kick down the sidewalk.

But during those times it 'did' care for him through the Child Care Protocols, the drone deeply loved the child, like a father who loved his son.

Hi/ts Name is [redacted]

(Aelita's PoV)

She sat inside of her holosphere while Jeremy and Gazelle slept soundly in their rooms, examining her website and adding another section for her visitors to enjoy, a section called 'Tales of the Machines', and the stories that particular machines throughout the times had during Humanity's golden and twilight eras. Within seconds of opening it millions of users, both unanimous and named flooded to look up the video file she'd just uploaded.

Other video files, partly documentaries regarding certain drones or other machines were also being uploaded and prepared, but the first was that of a RAPTOR class drone during the opening days of the Final War.

As the first mammals began playing it, she smiled as she watched the story being told.

**(This is a very true story about one of the more powerful drones to be created by mankind, a tale that tells of sacrifice, desperation, and above all hope for the future.)**

(Drone's PoV)

It ran through the war-torn streets dodging plasma shots from snipers in high building positions and swerving down the corners as fast as it could with the rest of its unit. All the while as they ran Heli-units flew by overhead taking potshots at them.

"Watch ooooooout!" Unit Jefferson yelled as an RPG was launched from the heli-unit.

Seeing the rocket incoming it leapt over and dodged the rocket to avoid the attack. Yet the rest of its unit were not so fortunate, as they were humans their reaction time was slower. It exploded directly in the middle of them, sending shrapnel and pellets into the others in its unit.

Seeing the heli-unit flying over head slow down to take aim, it locked onto the pilot and fired plasma bolts into the heli-unit's cockpit, killing the pilot and the co-pilot. With nobody to control it the unit spiraled out of control and slammed into a destroyed building.

**[Enemy Unit destroyed commander!] **It stated while turning toward the commander of the unit.

Unfortunately, the commander and all of the other soldiers were dead, with only the lieutenant still alive to give orders. Lieutenant Roxanne Delfy of the USE fifth division, Dragoon Battalion, was currently lying on the ground with half her left leg blown off and the other leg bleeding from twelve positions.

"Cough goh… what are you waiting for?" She yelled painfully. "Get goi-ng… you know the order… someone has to break through the cough… encirclement and get out of the jamming range."

**[Unit Roxanne, you are very injured but still salvageable, this unit can carry-]** It attempted to say but she interrupted.

"JUST GO YOU FUCKING MACHINE!" She screamed as she coughed blood. "You… have your orders…. Go…"

Nodding in understanding, it turned and ran, leaving the lieutenant behind to die from blood loss or by being shot as it was ordered to. They had been ordered with every soldier and drone still functioning to commence a general assault on the encirclement around the city they were stationed in. It had to be done because no transmissions could be made in or out of the area due to powerful jamming signals. An order was given to every drone and soldier, 'break out'. They were ordered to assault the positions, break through, and once any soldier or drone broke through the enemy lines keep running until they could contact upper command.

They had to warn command of the size of the enemy invasion force and what they were up against, their small division was no match for the full size of the enemy force, so now they had to break out and try desperately to warn the rest of the nation of what was coming so they could stop the enemy and push them back.

Ten minutes of running and fighting later, dozens of other soldiers and drones soon grouped up with it and any other survivors as they left the safety of the city's barriers and charged into the No Man's land.

Instantly a hail of plasma and conventional bullets met them head on in a hail of fire and death. RPGs and Mortar missiles launched from various entrenched positions, causing devastation and death upon those who were not lucky enough to avoid being hit.

Around it screams and shouts sounded from the division as they assaulted a hopeless position, but that didn't matter, they had their orders. While the humans no doubt were screaming and terrified about charging headlong into the maelstrom, it and the drones did not care, they had orders and they obeyed them.

Above a HARRIER drone flew in and launched several drop pods at them. They all dodged as best they could while returning fire, and out of the pods behind them appeared old DOG model drones, firing into them from behind.

**(It was a hopeless situation, assaulting the line, the enemy knew they were coming from intercepted messages. Yet still it was their only hope.)**

It ran onward dodging left and right, not paying attention as both drone and man succumbed around it to the storm of fire. Yet still they reached the line, and it and those who could launched themselves into the trenches and opened fire, killing any who might have stopped them and being killed and destroyed in turn. With nothing left to lose those who still could fought without reserve, and were slaughtered by the second for their defiance.

But still the drone and those other drones that could followed orders, it bit heavily into the face of a screaming man and ripped off a portion of his face, leaving him to die of agony before continuing on from the trench and running.

Behind it other drones managed to break through but only two managed to get out of the trenches to follow alongside it.

**[Incoming!]** a DOG drone shouted as a SCORPIO shell was launched and landed behind them.

The resulting shockwave knocked the two drones behind to the ground where they were quickly shot down by nearby drones and soldiers, but it was flung forward and managed to stay on its feet.

As per orders, it kept running, running and running until it could break through the jamming range.

**(The nation was at war with the rest of the world, and the rest of the world was at war with itself, in this battle the USE was already in a conflict and had misjudged the scope of the invasion force. Without contact from those in the division the leaders could not redirect or change the course of the war, so it was that thanks to the effort of one drone that managed to break through the lines, a new defensive position could be established to push it back.)**

It kept running, leaving the smoking remains of the city behind, leaving behind the drones and humans of its unit.

It and it alone survived.

**(This one drone would be reassigned and upgraded to watch over and guard a facility, where the political elite and a few select individuals would wait out the war and coordinate it. This facility would also serve alongside some others to help save the nation's civilization, which would become known as Eden Facility 17. In a few years it would become a Sentinel Drone, one of hundreds, and it would serve to protect those within against all threats.)**

As it ran it began to rain, soaking its body and coating the ground in mud.

**(This drone's identity was known, as PT-173.)**

(PT-173's PoV)

It walked past a FOX drone leaving to begin it's assigned duty and toward the back of the charging row where it and the other RAPTOR drones were assigned. There were a lot of empty charging stations, a result of Celios destroying over sixty percent of the standing Sentinel Drones, leaving them severely weakened.

It had also just gotten away from discussing issues with Unit Lula and how she asked about it's past. While it simply stated that it was a Sentinel Drone, it did not reveal any classified information regarding the Final War, it's various posts, or anything else related to its past.

This was because it had no memory of those incidents, nothing but a blank slate was there.

So, it walked into its charging bay, turned around, lifted its tail and plugged itself in to shut off.

But as it was offline, an image… a single image stored in its permanent memory file appeared.

The image of a human woman… standing next to a RAPTOR drone…

An image in the shape of a heart.

That solitary image was all that it knew of when offline in standby mode… but only while in standby mode.

Once it turned back on, it had no memory once again, no memory of the past, no memory of anything besides being a RAPTOR class Sentinel Drone.

Ema's Bizarre Imagination pt 2

*Note from the author, this is again, not how Ema 'actually' thinks nor does Ema have anything remotely close to an imagination. This is not what she sees inside her AI when looking at, examining diseases or working on curing them. This is merely for fun, enjoy~*

(Ema's PoV)

She hung upside down dangling from the lamppost of a barn while her cocky enemy smirked and walked around her, taking in the appearance of her helplessness.

"Oh, how I have waited for this moment, the infamous 'Black Widow' of the western dead towns… trapped and helpless before me." They said with a grin. "Oh, I wish so badly this happened 'after' my big scheme happened, just so I could see the look on your face, when I break the record… for the fastest 'kill' in the world!"

**[You think I'm scared of some nanny with a pension for fire?]** She asked dully while she swayed ever so slightly, using her legs to cut the ropes. **[I've seen arsonists with bigger bangs than you, better membranes to boot.]**

"You would say that wouldn't you darlin~?" He smirked as he flicked his hat. "But you never seen anything like me, I aint one of your fancy schmancy, western movie criminals that twirl their mustaches and laugh while gloating. See I got it all planned out, you're here with me, and there aint nothing now to stop mah plans!"

**[Oh, do tell, what is your glorious masterplan?]** She taunted. **[Leme guess, shoot down a few white blood cells, rob a few protein banks, leave the body via air transmission?]**

"Oh, you would like it to be that simple wouldn't ya, but you aint seen anything like me!" He snapped. "But you aint dealt with an organism like me, see I know how you work, I know all I need to get around you, that's why you're here… and not out there… couldn't resist me, so now you can't stop me."

**[Night's still young lovely, but since your soooo confident, what's your big scheme?]**

"Same as it always has been… break the record, get the fastest kill in the world!" He smirked while pulling out a chain of his 'souvenirs'. "And do it without them being none the wiser."

He walked around her while swinging his chain around.

"See this little number here, comes from a sweet little bunny in the countryside, isolated community, friendly bunch. Loved going for strolls in the park, playing dollhouse with her twelve sisters. But she just didn't like to take a bath when her mama told her to." He grinned as he showed it to her face. "She was feeding weeds in three weeks, parents didn't even realize what hit her till it was too late, thought it was just heat stroke."

**[You monster…]** She muttered.

"I'm an honest monster honey, can't blame me for being what I am." He chuckled as he swung the chain and showed the next link. "This one here, oh this one was a good one, nice little grizzly bear grandmother, loved knitting sweaters for her grandkids and baking honey pies. Never knew when to go to the hospital for a checkup though, didn't like going there for her meds… she went down in six days without warning, dropped like a sack of rocks."

**[That poor bear…]**

"Oh, yea she was poor, poor as heck… now this one though, this one definitely the opposite, my personal favorite!" He said while eyeing his next prize. "This one was an old gentlemen giraffe, rich son of a gun, hired the best doctors and went to the best hospital where he lived… took him down in seventy-two hours, and the doctors couldn't find me, even when I was right under their microscopic lenses, staring them in the face."

He smiled greedily as he turned to her while stashing away his trinkets.

"I've been getting better for years, been doing this game for a long time but the problem is Spider-babe, is that I never set a real record, a 'REAL' record, one that would put me on the pedestal of 'all' microorganisms. I want my own BOOK, among the medical texts, not some stupid chapter or footnote, my own BOOK! I want doctors to have to spend months studying and reading about me, and what I accomplished, I want mammals to live in FEAR of me every day!"

Then he pulled out a little picture from his jacket's pocket and showed it to her.

"That's why I'm going after your boy Jeremy, what better way to cement my place in the medical world, then by setting the greatest record for the fastest kill of any living entity, then by killing off the last living member of an entire species?" He gloated. "I wasn't even around when his ancestors dominated the medical world, his body aint ready for me. Mammals will be talking about me for centuries as they learn about the disease, that killed the last human and drove them to extinction, faster than anything else on the planet. They'll be writing plays and operas and even movies after I take him down… in less than twelve hours flat!"

**[Not on my watch…]** She said before she finally decided to cut the last rope holding her.

She landed heavily on her opponent and jabbed one of her legs into his chest, another into his head, a third into his stomach and four others into his arms and legs, while the eight grabbed the chain DNA strands of all the bodies he's been in.

Within seconds she'd analyzed his genetics, flooded his entire system with alcohol to kill him, and examined the way he infiltrated the bodies to learn of what he is.

**[Not bad… for a bacterium.]** She commented dully as she got up and walked away. **[But your still nowhere near close to breaking the record, let alone setting it. Tuberculosis was with humans for over fifteen thousand years, you aren't even a hundred yet.]**

She looked at the DNA strands in the chain and stored them in her database.

**[I won't let that happen to any others… your deaths will not be in vain.]** She said sadly before looking back at the disease and scoffing at it, then she walked off to go deal with his 'plan'. **[Rookie.]**

= Sable and the Humbling River =

(Sable's PoV)

He sat curled up in his bed drinking heavily from the stiffest drink he could buy, staring at the shotgun which lay in the corner of the room and eyeing it like a sweet lady.

His life has taken such a horrible turn. Months ago, he was in papers, had adoring fans, was loved by everymammal and was in the best circles of some of the best and most revered in Zootopia. He had money, looks, and fame, all thanks to the efforts of struggling to get to where he was where predators were seen as better choices as actors in the titles that he starred in.

Then all it took was one human, getting into an argument with one single human because he was irked that Gazelle… Gazelle, the most popular idol, pop star and most vocal advocate for peaceful coexistence between predators and prey paid more attention to the human than to 'him'. Gazelle gave him instant access to his 'private premier party', apparently spent all of her free time with him, and above all liked him 'better'.

He's been trying to get to know her for over two years, but Jeremy gets closer to her in just a few days than he ever did.

Now everymammal hates him because he splashes water on his face, and nearly kills him.

He took another swig of his liquor and sighed bitterly. How was he to know that the human had a disease like that, nomammal told him, he didn't say anything.

As he closed his eyes and thought about everything that happened, he heard a tap on the glass and saw through the cracks in the boarded-up window a pair of red lights staring at him.

Instantly he tensed up and was about to grab the shotgun, but sighed as he shook his head. They weren't going to run just because he had a stupid shotgun, he'd learned that after a while, nor were they even remotely afraid of him, it was the reverse. They knew he couldn't escape them; they knew he was trapped and that he had no defense against them. They can kill him at any time, the only thing stopping them was 'them'.

"Why… did what I do really deserve this?" He asked pathetically. "I'm sorry… I didn't know… I didn't know!"

He cried sadly as he let the bottle drop, letting the contents spill out and onto his bedroom floor.

He's lost everything, his fame, his fans, his job practically and now even his money was drying up. Nomammal talked to him, his agent had all but given up on him, his health had deteriorated…

"Just… why… just leave me alone, haven't I suffered enough already?!" He screamed at them, knowing they were listening to him. "I'M SORRY… I'M SORRY THERE I SAID IT!"

He cried into the walls, unable to take the strain anymore. He couldn't sleep peacefully at night, he was alone in the day, and nobody 'cared' about him it seemed. He'd lost everything, even the things he didn't even know he had, the little things like being able to go to a restaurant and being able to 'talk' to mammals, to be welcomed. He couldn't enjoy a peaceful night's sleep anymore, nomammal talked about him unless it was bad, mammals even wanted him arrested or dead for something that was an accident!

"I'll leave him alone; I'll never bother him again… JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT SO YOU'LL LEAVE ME ALONE!"

He cried pathetically into his hands, expecting to hear them laugh like when he threatened them, or just to hear silence.

Instead, he felt something poke his leg.

Looking up from his tears he stared at a metallic drone in the spitting image of a fox sitting in front of him. It just sat there, staring, with blue eyes glowing watching him. After a few seconds it got up, walked to the door, and extended a claw to unlock and open the door open. It then turned toward him and beckoned him to follow.

Seeing no other choice, he nervously got up and slowly, shakily, walked to the door and followed the machine out of his bedroom and down the stairs. As he did another fox machine followed, and soon they were accompanied by a third. None of them looked at him, none of them threatened him, they just followed or led the way toward the kitchen where he saw…

"**Well well, what do we have here?"** A feminine voice asked while wearing a smirk.

"Wha… what?" He asked in shock.

What looked like a human woman sat on his table while sipping from a glass of wine. She wore a simple black gown that flowed from the base of her neck cut in a V shape to expose a section of her bust, while behind her back extended what looked like two feathery wings, one black and the other white. On her head flowed silky hair in the colors of the rainbow and wore a golden laurel.

"**I think the better question is 'who' luv, and that question is for you to ask and be answered at my leisure… now come hither, let me get a good look at you."** She said with a smile.

Nodding he stepped forward and stood before the human, not sure if she was real but not questioning why she was there, only obeying her as she seemed to be the reason the drones now made themselves known.

"**Hmmm you're not what I expected, but then again I didn't expect much to begin with."** She said with a smirk. **"Oh, look at the state of you… so much potential, so many dreams and hopes… so much wasted… and I thought you'd be taller."**

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" He asked.

"**Well since you asked… I'm known as lady luck, and when lady luck comes a knocking, you don't question why she's there or what she wants, you open the door and offer her wine and cake."** She said with a knowing grin. **"But since you're so demanding… you can call me Taelia, and why I'm here is obvious… because you summoned me."**

She snapped her fingers and a fourth drone hopped onto the table followed by the other three.

"**Such a hard fall you had, but the higher you are the further you fall as the saying goes. You were so prideful, sooo bloated with fame that you forgot that the most important things in life are the little things you cannot live without."** She giggled and clapped her hands together with a smile. **"But here you are, standing before me, groveling and begging for salvation… all because you can't handle a few 'stalkers' watching you. What… you wanted attention, so you got it!"**

"Attention… these things have made my life a nightmare, all because that human…"

As one all four of the drone's eyes changed to red and he shut up, which in turn made 'them' go back to blue.

"**Watch your tongue boy… they don't take kindly to insults toward humans."** She whispered with a smile. **"And don't blame him… it was you and your jealousy, your vanity, your need to be seen as 'better' than him that landed you in this position. Here I am… offering you a spider's thread of salvation, and you want to waste it by insulting someone who has not deserved such ire from you?"**

She smiled knowingly as she flung the glass behind her, but instead of breaking it vanished.

"**Jeremy has only ever tried to do good by the standards he was raised to, he only wanted to thank those who helped him, saved him, gave him a light at the end of his darkened tunnel. And you hate him because of that, because of your pathetic little belief you have in your own superiority over him."** She said.** "Maybe I should leave… you don't seem to want my help; I'll leave them to you…"**

"WAIT PLEASE!" He yelled as he got down on his knees and looked at her pleadingly. "Don't… tell them to go away, I'll do anything!"

She smirked at that, grinning even wider if that were possible. **"Oh, you will… you 'will'…"** She whispered as she held her hands over him and dangled a single strand for him. **"If you want them to leave you alone, your going to have to change who you are, change 'what' you are… become someone new, better… cast off the prejudices you once held and cross the humbling river before you can be redeemed. Here's the spider's thread I promised… are you willing to accept my tasks and become someone else, for the chance of redemption?"**

He reached out tentatively for the string, but she pulled back with a serious expression.

"**I offer this to you not lightly, or out of kindness… you 'will' suffer both mentally and emotionally during my tasks. But if you succeed and emerge triumphant, you will be better, you will be wiser, and you will know better than those around you and be able to relate to all on a deeper level than any other. You might not like who you were at the end, or you might find yourself broken partway through… they will 'not' harm you, of that I can assure you if you keep your distance from Jeremy. But they will forever haunt you, watch you, until the day you die."**

"Why can't Jeremy get them off me?" He asked sadly. "I'm sorry… okay I'm sorry!"

"**That's not enough, you tried to kill him, accident or not you tried to kill him. Him… the last of his kind, the last 'hope' of his species… for no other reason than pure jealousy."** She chuckled. **"Jealous because he's closer to a girl than you ever were, because you weren't popular enough to win her. Because it took him being her 'friend' to get her to come to your silly party… you think you deserve to be rid of these machines that easily?"**

"I can tell him, I can tell the police, this is harassment!"

At that she smiled cruelly before leaning forward and whispered, **"And who will believe you?"**

She grinned as he had no response, and leaned back again to dangle the string before him.

"**So, what will it be… life with stalkers day and night watching your every move of every waking moment you walk upon this planet no matter how far you go?"** She said while pretending to pull the string away, before gently offering it again. **"Or the chance of redemption, to become better?"**

He looked at the string, looked at the drones, and knew that he had only one option if he wanted to have a normal life again. He reached out and grabbed the string, which vanished instantly.

"**Good choice… now I want you to take tomorrow to settle your affairs and be out of the light of day for a full eight days."** She said with a nod. **"Tomorrow, I will return to 'collect' you… and don't worry about the drones luv, they'll leave you alone for tonight… but if you try anything…"**

She winked and vanished, with all four of the machines vanishing as well.

He went to bed and slept rather soundly, as promised they didn't disturb him. The next day he made calls and told everyone he was going to be 'out of town' for several days, when he'd return, he didn't say. When night came, he locked up in preparation for whatever it was that Taelia said she would have him do.

Then, as she promised, she arrived.

"**Ready luv?"** She asked as she waltzed into the living room.

"Yea, where are we going or what are we doing?" He asked.

"**Oh… don't worry about the where or what yet… for now… just take a nap~."**

He only had 2 seconds to think before he felt something stab him in the arm, and then the whole world started spinning.

After what felt like eternity or however long it felt, he woke up and found himself lying in the dirt face down. He got up and looked around to find a riverbank nearby rushing rapidly past into the distance, surrounded by forest and what looked like doors. On the other side of the river was another door, with a strange creature made of stone wearing a wicked grin and bony wings, while next to it a tiny chubby creature that looked 'human' with fluffy wings stood as well. Between them was a sign which read 'Salvation' and an arrow pointing at the door.

"**Awake yet luv?"** The woman's voice asked. **"Take as long as you need to rest, just don't take too long…"**

He looked up and stared at the woman before getting up.

"Where are we?"

"**As I said… the humbling river."** She said with a smile. **"See that door over there, walk through and salvation is yours… that's all there is to it."**

He looked over at the door on the far side before staring back at her in surprise. "That's it, just swim and the drones leave me alone."

She nodded with a smile, but the way she smiled told him that she was hiding something else.

Still he didn't care, if all he had to do was walk through that door then he would charge through, he was on the swim team for college, and he instantly ran and jumped into the water to get across as fast as he could.

Instantly however the water began shoving and pushing him back, try as he might he couldn't make headway before the water pushed him under and he began to flounder. Desperately he reached out and tried to reach the other side, but there was nothing for him to latch onto besides water. He watched the woman waving him bye as the current forced him down the river and he fell down a waterfall…

To land right in the soft dirt next to her.

She giggled loudly as he got up. **"I haven't laughed that hard in a while."** She said. **"Did you honestly think it was that easy?"**

"You said that was all there was to it." He snarled.

"**That is all there is to it, to earning your freedom from the drones… but I also did say you had to suffer for it before you'd be redeemed."** She clarified. **"Look at those doors."**

He looked at the eight doors, seven of which had locks with exception to one. On each of the doors was an insignia carved into them. As he looked, he also listened, and also heard tiny faint screams coming from them, screams of agony and pain.

"What are those sounds?"

"**Not very inviting are they… those are the doors to seven of the worst examples of humanity throughout its history, from ancient China to Medieval Europe, from Colonial France to even twentieth century America… the worst of the worst are there… and you will have to go into each of those doors."**

"Seven, but then what's the eighth door?" He asked pointing at it with what looked like the symbol of an antelope's head.

"**That's your door…"** She commented with a grin. **"Each door will unlock the next, the first door is already open to you, collect the keys by saving those inside. Redeem the worst of humanity… and you will redeem yourself. Once you have redeemed all of humanity, you will then have to confront yourself and change your own destiny… once you have done that… you will be able to cross the river."**

"But how, that river is so… wide and the water pushed me, how can I cross it alone even after I help them?"

"**You will see… oh and don't worry about food, you'll be fed every day here… but you only have eight days total to clear all eight doors…"** She said with a grin and a snap of her fingers. **"Clock's ticking…"**

With that the first door opened and she vanished.

Gulping he stood up and walked toward the door with golden light pouring from it. As he got closer, he thought it looked like a sea of two colors, one azure blue and the other golden yellow. Then he walked through and had to close his eyes because of the flashing colors hurting them.

He opened his eyes to see human soldiers marching out of what looked like a very poor and decrepit looking town, the building reminiscent to something he once saw on the news which talked about human architecture. It was dark and cloudy and rain was pouring down, casting everything in a grey and almost lifeless setting, while the soldiers marched out escorting bags of what could only be food or… money or something he couldn't really see.

Yet as they left Taelia stepped in with a smile and beckoned him toward her.

"Where are we?" He asked in confusion, seeing all the humans in such ancient armor, wielding spears and not seeing any of the 'advanced' technology Jeremy was known for.

"**Ancient China… the year is 184 AD, during the Eastern Han Dynasty."** She said with a smile as humans straggled into the town, some looking sick and others starving. **"Enjoying the view?"**

He was not as he stared in shock at seeing humans in such conditions. He knew they were 'extinct' if not going extinct, but to see them looking like this shocked him. Jeremy and his technology looked so advanced, like there wasn't anything they could achieve.

"No…" He muttered. "What's wrong with them?"

"**It's what happens when a government taxes its people so heavily they have no money, and works them so hard they are left weakened."** She said with a smile. **"But they're not your concern… who cares about the lowly peasants, just more mouths to feed and worry about right?"**

He looked at a little boy helping his elderly grandmother, trying to give her water as she breathed heavily and weakly. He shook his head as he turned and saw a man crouching over a young woman who lay motionless, examining her with sad eyes. The man placed his hands on her forehead and pushed them downward, slowly and sadly, and people around her began crying as he got up wearily and walked over to them.

"**Say hello to Jhang Jue for me."** She said with a smile and vanished.

Slowly walking toward him as the man walked out with slow and steady steps, all the while looking around at all of the suffering and despair. He too mirrored his look and saw the sick, the starving, the desperate situation of those around him. They needed food, medicine, and above all 'hope'…

"Jhang Jue?" He said, hoping he pronounced it right as the man stopped outside the entrance to the town.

He looked over at him and smiled. "Ah… hello sir, please… come stand with me, I could enjoy some company." He said softly while turning toward the sky.

He stood next to him and saw him clutching what looked like a small clay bowl, coated with tiny strands of grass or herbs. Zhang Jue frowned bitterly as he noticed Sable staring at it too.

"Are you ailed by anything?" He asked.

"No, no I'm fine." He muttered, surprised that the human didn't even seem to notice he wasn't human but a mammal. "But what about you?"

"My heart is heavy… and my spirit is leaden." He said quietly. "The Han have abandoned us; they have left us with nothing while they keep everything… the people starve and die while the emperor does nothing! The decadent emperor Ling has lost the mandate of heaven!"

He flung the clay bowl onto the ground in frustration.

"The heavens have forsaken them… this cannot continue!"

"But what can you do?"

He frowned as he looked up at the skies and sighed. "Something must be done… the Azure sky is already dead… The Yellow Sky will soon rise. When the year is Jiazi there will be prosperity under heaven!" He declared as he turned around and walked away.

As he walked away the antelope looked on nervously at the human before Taelia appeared around a wall.

"**Lovely conversation I heard… feel like sharing it?"**

He explained to her what he just heard, and she only nodded, as if she already knew what he was going to say.

"So, is he the one I'm supposed to help?" He said. "It sounds like he's planning to lead an army or something."

She smiled and shook her head. **"You're not here for him… you are to help another."**

"Who's that then?"

She snapped her fingers and in a flash of light they were no longer in the rainy, dreary, desperate village but inside a grand palace.

He could hear giggling and laughter, mostly girls, and in the middle of a room there were what looked like a dozen girls all laughing and conversing with one another. Among them was a solitary man flirting with them.

"**Him."** She said with a smirk.

"Him?" He asked to confirm.

She nodded. **"He's known as the Decadent Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty… leader during the greatest rebellion of all China… the Yellow Turban Rebellion."** She said. **"Led by the brothers Zhang Jue, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang… who rose up in rebellion against the Han Dynasty for years of oppressive abuse, heavy taxation, and harsh labor combined with a poorly timed drought pushed the people to the edge… leading to a death toll of less than seven million dead, cracking the empire into splinters and forever engraining the cycle of being united and then divided."**

"**And you…"** She said with a smile. **"Have to save him."**

"Me… but how can I save him he looks… like he doesn't care?" He muttered as the emperor was busy with his women.

"**He does, doesn't he… but if you don't save him all those millions of people will die… and he will go down in history as the emperor who chose to indulge in women, rather than care for his empire. His empire will splinter, and chaos will reign upon his death, resulting in another span of civil wars which will lead to more and more deaths… this is the focal point, change the focal point and a new path will arise."** She said with a smile. **"You can save him… you can change him… now… save his 'humanity'… oh and no cheating by telling him of the future… else we start over~."**

With that she vanished, and he was left as Emperor Ling got up while leaving his women alone.

He stepped out of the room and Sable walked after him, trying to figure out how to talk to him.

"Emperor Ling?" He asked finally.

The emperor turned to him and looked expectantly at him, and Sable quickly bowed respectfully before continuing.

"I have something I wish to discuss with you sir, if you have but a few minutes to spare."

"Very well, speak of them." He said.

"It is about your people; I have something dire to report." He said.

"Leave it to my officials, my Ten Attendants have everything under control." He said nonchalantly while walking away.

"But please the people need you emperor, they need the emperor desperately!" He said. "The people are starving and dying by the wayside, I have seen them with my own eyes. There is no food for the hungry, medicine for the sick… and there is widespread famine and drought running rampant and your 'officials' are driving them into the ground without care!"

"They are beginning to doubt your leadership."

At that the emperor paused in his trek and turned to listen to him carefully. "Speak then…"

He sighed and took a deep breath. "While you sit here idly in the palace, attended to by your… ladies… well fed and cared for, safe from the wind and the rain. I watched a young son trying to give his grandmother water as she sat sick and dying. I watched a family grieving over the death of a young woman, even as a healer closed her eyes… they suffer harshly under your official's rule and they become more desperate by the day."

"Peasants are peasants, let the peasants die if that is the case." He said. "I am the emperor chosen by heaven."

"But you are the emperor, their leader… if… if you are chosen by heaven but neglect them and they will feel you are no longer blessed by heaven." He said urgently. "But if you show you 'do' care for them… if you show you value their lives, then they will 'die' for you without fear. But neglect them and… they may 'all' rise against you."

At those words the emperor held his hand to his chin in thought.

"Just help them… give them food, help them to survive until better times come, some may die yes but if you save more lives than you do by doing nothing, they will revere you as a savior… your officials do not care for them, they 'steal' from your people when they are desperate. And they see your officials as 'your' officials, and through them they view you as cruel as them."

He looked thoughtful as he turned away, contemplating his inner actions before he nodded. "Very well… I will call to order my officials and begin distributing rice. I will also issue a decree to temporarily lower the tax on my subjects until the drought has ended and the fields once again can be cultivated as in old days."

He breathed a sigh of relief as the emperor left, and instantly everything became dark. Moments later he felt himself waking up in the dirt and staring up at Taelia, who was smiling and clapping in approval.

"**Well done… not how I would have done it, but then again, you're not me."** She said.

"Did I save him?" He asked in confirmation.

"**Emperor Ling, in 'your' timeline did as he said. He mandated food to be distributed by the central government's reserve, and a general tax reduction was issued including a tax exemption for some regions. In your timeline the Zhang Brothers never instigated the revolt, as thanks to government help, they were able to treat and save people's lives and help feed the poor until the drought ended. Because the Yellow Turban Rebellion never happened, Emperor Ling's death never created the chaos known as the Three Kingdom's period which was possible thanks to the constant rebellions taking place over china, giving rise to powerful and famous warlords, and because the three kingdom's never happened the war of the Eight Princes never occurred… Billions of lives were saved, and the Han Dynasty would become known as the Yellow Han Dynasty, for indeed… a yellow sun 'would' rise for the Han Dynasty, and there was indeed prosperity under heaven…"**

She extended her hand and offered him a key, which he took.

"**You might need to sleep and eat; you have been in there for roughly six hours."** She said. **"Time in here gets very warped the longer you stay… don't worry about the bathroom, just pick a tree… I won't peak~."**

"**When your ready… Julias Caesar awaits your aid… good luck~."**

With that she left, but in her place a tray of what looked like 'paste' was there for him, as well as a glass of water, as well as a sleeping bag.

He sighed as he ate the tasteless food, hating it but knowing that this was what he had to do now if he was to be free of those machines. At the same time, he reflected on what he saw, all those sick and hungry, desperate people, willing to rebel against their leaders because they didn't care about them. He wondered if that was how 'he' has been treating mammals like Jeremy, not caring about him just because he's some random human who 'somehow' survived, and just because he did everymammal treats him like a star.

"But he didn't ask for it… he never wanted it…" He said, mirroring Gazelle's words.


	27. Chapter 24

_It's been so long, without a ray of hope in sight…_

_I'm feeling lost, under these broken neon lights…_

_Erase all the pain, remember the strife makes us stronger…_

_When hard times get longer, and I, a bird in a cage…_

_Will sing you a beautiful tune, in the face of our doom~_

Chapter 34 - The Returning Heartbeats

(Jeremy's PoV)

"And so, in short, that's why I want to give you the seed." Jeremy finished explaining to Judy's father. "Between the rich soil fertility and the water basin which feeds into the river system providing a rich environment for plant growth 'and' ample levels of sunlight, makes it the ideal location for this particular seed's growth. As for why I want 'you', to grow it, well your daughter told me about your family's farm, and I trust her word. This seed is incredibly important being the only one of its kind left over from my species, and while planting it in Zootopia makes sense for convenience"

"Well gosh darnit Mr. Jeremy my family is honored that your putting so much trust in us!" The rabbit said with a proud smile.

Even 'if' he looked slightly scared with the fact that three RAPTOR class drones as well as four DOG class drones were behind him and Aelita, on top of his personal Solar Carriage sitting on the side of the road.

"Yes, but… before I hand it over to you, I only ask one minor request of you." He said knowing this was a bit of a risk, but with how important the seed was, he could not afford to take chances. "I would like you to permit one drone to stand guard over it on your land until the tree is matured enough that it won't be threatened by thieves digging it up."

Judy's father looked up at the RAPTOR drones and gulped slightly. "Well iuno bout that, I mean… do we have to house it or…"

"You won't have to worry about any of its needs." He explained quickly. "The drones don't need sleep, food, water or anything like that. There will be a small power cell hooked up to a solar panel of my design that it can plug itself into and recharge every day that you can plant anywhere, and it won't mind. You don't have to converse with it, watch over it, or worry about it doing anything you don't want it to, it's just going to watch over the seed's location and keep it safe."

He knelt on one knee and looked at him with hope while a drone took Aelita from him. "Please, I wouldn't ask you to do this if I trusted all of mammalkind with this seed's safety. But… there are some and have been some who have tried to hurt me, or steal from me. This seed… is precious, it's vital that it be protected until its mature enough where it won't be threatened anymore, but until it reaches that it is extremely vulnerable. That's why despite having your daughter and her fiancé here protecting me and the seed, I ordered these drones to escort and watch over us."

"Dad listen to Jeremy, that seed is the last seed from his time, his father poured the last of his life into getting it to Jeremy." Judy said as she walked to stand next to him. "Having a drone just stand around on the farm staring at a spot of land all day is a small sacrifice compared to what your nurturing. Plus, it also will be protecting you, not just the seed."

He looked thoughtful at that before looking at his wife. "Well what do you think honey?"

"Oh, why not…" Judy's mother said warmly. "If it's just ganna stand around staring at a seed all day, why not let it stay and rest in the barn."

"You won't need to worry about it sitting in the barn for long, at most about two minutes." Jeremy said as he got up and beckoned over the RAPTOR he had selected, OK-101.

The drone nodded and stepped forward, handing him a charging port that he'd had the ANTs pull out, and modified it so that instead of the drone hooking up to it via its tail like normal to charge, instead it would extract the drone's current power cell and swap it with a replacement that would be charged daily. It was also connected via a large extension cable to a large solar panel of human design, meaning it was ten times more effective than a mammal version.

"All you have to do, is plant 'this' on the ground somewhere, anywhere in your barn if you want, but honestly anywhere will suffice." He said pointing at the charging port, before pointing at the solar panel. "And you plant this so that it sits outside with full access to the sky and especially sunlight."

He then demonstrated how it would work by planting the cell on the ground and snapping his fingers. The drone nodded in understanding and walked over to the charging port, flicked its tail open, backed up and plugged itself in. The charging port rotated, and an empty slot was filled up by a power cell, then it rotated again, and the other power cell was pushed into the drone and leaving the slot it rested in empty. Moments after the drone stepped forward and flicked its tail back into place.

"And that's how it will go, as long as the power cell is somewhere it won't get rained on, and the panel has access to the sky, the drone will be fine and won't need any special attention. The drone will protect the land around where you plant the seed from trespassers, and your home as well. All you need to do is just tell it who it can trust around your land and it won't bother them unless they get near the seed. The only ones aloud near the seed will be you and your family." Jeremy said as he handed the drone the power cell and panel again.

"Well, I suppose it's alright… do you have a name sir?" He asked the drone.

**[This unit is identified, as OK-101.]**

"Well okay then Mr. OK, pleasure to meet ya." He said with a little chuckle and a salute, which caused everyone 'living' to laugh a little, including Aelita.

Not getting the humor the drone simply nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well that about covers everything…" Jeremy said warmly as he turned to the more 'heavily armed' drone, a RAPTOR by the identity KL-010. "The seed please."

The drone nodded and stepped forward, presenting him with a box containing the seed. It had been placed in a simple container with a cushion in it that Gazelle purchased for him, and upon receiving it he carefully opened it and showed Judy's parents the precious seed inside of it.

It sat on the cushion, a simple beige seed that bulged on one end and narrowed on the other. It looked no more different than any other seed one might find in another plant, yet it contained more potential for life in it than anything on the planet.

"So that's what your entrusting us with?" Mr. Hopp asked curiously while staring at the little seed. "Doesn't seem all that important…"

"Don't let it fool you dad, that seed is the most important seed on the planet, not kidding." Judy said instantly.

"Yea, that is a super seed." Nick explained with a grin. "Tell him Jeremy, I like hearing how you describe it."

"This seed is a grand total of twenty-four plants all wrapped up into one single seed." He explained to the rabbit farmer. "This seed contains the DNA of a tree, mixed with a cactus, combined with a weed, and given the strands of twenty-one different fruits and vegetable plants to enable it to grow additional seeds like itself each with the same characteristics of the first."

"Oh, dear I can see why you wanted the extra security now." Mrs. Hopp said in surprise as Jeremy closed the container and handed it over to them. "We'll take good care of it; we even have that field we were going to use for the new blueberry crops ready to go."

"You have our word Jeremy; we'll nurture and grow this little seed nice and tall!" Mr. Hopp said proudly.

He smiled warmly and shook the rabbit's hand with a single tear falling down the side of his face. "I'm counting on you, that seed represents so much hope to my species… it was meant to rebuild the forests and plant life that were destroyed, a lot of work went into this seed to be given to us, and now I give it to you."

"Don't worry Mr. Human, it's in good hands…" Mr. Hopp said with an understanding smile.

He nodded and took a deep breath before standing up and looking at OK-101. "Drone, your mission is to protect that seed until further notice, no harm is to come to it, you are not permitted to use lethal force unless one of the Hopps' life is in danger, and you are permitted to use 'reasonable force' to ensure no mammal disturbs the seed's resting place, depending on the situation as it demands. The only mammals permitted to approach it, tend to it, and check on it are the Hopps, confirm you understand the order!"

**[Confirmed, this unit acknowledges and understands the order, and will obey.]** It stated.

He nodded and turned to everyone else. "Alright, that's all there is to it then, let's head on back home!" He declared. "All other drones we're heading back."

**[As you command!]** All the other drones declared as they did a complete 180 and marched right back to the solar carriage.

"Listen before you go!" Mrs. Hopp said suddenly, making him turn around. "We just wanted to say thank you so much for all you have done."

"Me, I haven't done anything really, in all honesty." He said quietly. "If this is about the vaccines and cures, like I said… I'm just the messenger, the real credit goes to my ancestors and especially Ema. The spider drone's doing all of the work, I just told her to do it…"

"Maybe, but without you, a lot of good mammals would have suffered quite a bit without those vaccines and cures, like dear old Sharla."

"Wait what happened with Sharla?" Judy asked quickly.

"Sharla came down with a massive case of Kidney Palphomia, it was completely unexpected, she was just… fine one week and the next she was in the hospital bed suffering badly." Mrs. Hopp said sadly. "It was proclaimed terminal, and you know how it is out here Judy, not a lot of modern hospitals like they have in a big city like Zootopia. Local hospital had nothing to help her…" Then she turned to Jeremy with a smile. "Until a medical chopper flew out here with the cure she needed, when we found out where the cure came from, everymammal wanted to know who 'Jeremy Wilheart' was and… well… one thing led to another."

"Do you know where Sharla is mom?"

"Oh, why yes dear, she's still living in her family's cottage, I think she's probably over attending her 'evening service'!" She replied warmly.

"Ya know I always thought that stuff she believed in was weird, now I'm starting to second guess it!" Her father said with a chuckle. "All that 'spirit' talk and 'spirits watching over the flocks' was such crabcarrots before, now I'm starting to wonder if they might have been onto something."

"Don't listen to your father, he's still thinking it is."

"Well honey think about it, how long sheep been talking bout spirits, and now suddenly one's right here!"

"Please, please… I'm not a spirit I'm… just a human." Jeremy said with a nervous smile. "Take care of that seed Mr. and Mrs. Hopp."

"Oh, we will Jeremy and, your more than welcome to come visit our home!" Mrs. Hopp said quickly.

"Any friend of our Judy is a friend of the family and more than welcomed to dine with us!" Mr. Hopp continued, "You her, us, and all three hundred and twenty-seven of her brothers and sisters!"

"You call us ahead of time and we'll make it a big family reunion!" Mrs. Hopp said as they started leaving. "We'll even invite our relatives!"

Once inside the carriage and seated, all the drones minus OK-101 began marching off with the carriage moving on its own and rapidly picking up speed. The carriage normally relied on HORSE to move around, however as Jeremy told Mr. Big, it didn't require the Category Two drone. While running autonomously Aelita could control it herself, or anyone inside using specialized Holographic steering wheels and the visors. It also had an autopilot feature to allow them to traverse any location to their destination.

Since HORSE couldn't travel fast enough to go from Zootopia to Bunny Burrows, Jeremy left the drone behind so they could travel to and from both locations in a timely manner. Within seconds the carriage's drive section turned on and instantly took off on all tires, reaching fifty miles per hour within a second. After a few more seconds they were speeding away at eighty miles per hour with the drones keeping pace on both sides in double line formation. The transition was completely smooth from being still to moving at high speeds, the drive train didn't jolt the vehicle or shake them slightly despite the rural road and numerous bumps. Only the drones constantly bobbing up and down as they ran alongside the carriage indicated the conditions they were moving over.

"Hey Jeremy, I know you wanted to return home, but I was wondering if we could stop by to see Sharla really quickly, hearing about her getting sick makes me worry." Judy asked quickly.

"I'm sure she's fine, you heard your parents, she got the cure Ema provided." Nick said.

"I know but I still want to say hi to her and make sure she's okay."

He thought about it before glancing at Aelita's holosphere. "Do you mind if we take a quick detour?" He asked.

Aelita rolled her eyes at him before changing her form to become his, only she was wearing an Admiral's uniform and was standing before a steering wheel turning it for a few seconds. She then changed to herself while wearing a sailor's uniform and pretending to swab the deck. She then returned to normal and shrugged with a nod. She was saying he was in charge, not her.

"Well if nobody objects, why not?" He said with a smile. "Where to Judy?"

"Hmm, if I remember the pasture where she and other sheep and rams have their 'service' is on the east side of Bunny Burrow, called Sheepell Pastureville."

Nodding he looked up at the ceiling, "Autopilot, change destination, Sheepell Pastureville." he said.

**[Coordinates Locked… changing course…]** A monotone voice declared.

Instantly the carriage made a hard turn that did not in any way make them shift inside, taking a different road to their destination. The drones escorting them turned in time, maintaining their escort formation as if this were all planned out.

They roamed along the roads enjoying the scenery, Jeremy especially, having seen so much city life and especially his time in the base made him enjoy the beautiful scenery that was 'nature'. Having seen a scene like this only in the holoroom and on viewscreens, seeing natural grasslands, rolling hills and trees was something he just couldn't get enough of. Every time he looked at a tree or saw fields of wild grass, he wanted to stop and just look at it for as long as he could.

"Bunny Burrows is nice." He said. "Why did you choose to leave this place Judy, it looks so peaceful and pleasant."

"I wanted to make a difference in the world, I wanted to become a police officer, it was my dream." Judy said instantly. "I wanted to become the first Bunny Cop ever and help change the world."

"Now she's literally changing the world by sticking around you." Nick chuckled from his seat.

"Oh, shush you!"

"Kinda like me… I just wanted to fix the world when I grew up…" He muttered as he stared back at the scenery outside the window. "Now the world doesn't need fixing… it's hard to believe that… there's nothing needing fixing…"

"Oh, I'm sure there's something broken that you can fix!" Nick said with a grin.

He smiled a little at that, knowing the fox was trying to cheer him up, but he honestly didn't know what he was going to do. Aside from sharing technology at a slow rate what he was trained to do wasn't going to work in this day and age. Then of course there were the incidents regarding his technology, namely the latest one.

Yesterday before he'd made his final choice on Bunny Burrow for the location of the seed's planting, he'd seen a report on the news about a hijacking attempt on one of the vehicles transporting materials from the base to various medical facilities. Apparently, a van carrying several canisters from Ema containing the latest cures and vaccines, as well as a container of Biotech was hijacked by an unknown mammal. The driver ditched the van almost minutes after the cops started chasing them and got away, with none of the containers being broken into or tampered with. It was obvious someone was trying to steal something, be it the Biotech, the vaccines or cures, someone had tried to steal it from him before it could reach its destination.

He figured it was mostly likely the Biotech they were after, because if any mammal tried selling the vaccines or cures, they wouldn't make anything since his promise to distribute them freely was still in effect. Also, it would paint a massive target on them and quickly identify who stole from him. The Biotech however, while used mostly to treat injuries and speed up the recovery process of multiple levels of damage to the body, could be studied for other applications that it wasn't intended to be used for, and thus Jeremy was worried about sending out more of it.

At his request every vehicle transporting Biotech from now on was under ZPD escort, Chief Bogo would assign a squad car to keep the biotech, vaccines and cures protected.

He just wanted to protect his species technology, if something bad happened because of his technology being used wrongly then it would be his fault. Despite all the goodwill he's gained thus far, it wouldn't take much to turn it all around…

"Still at least it's nice out here…" He muttered as they made their way to Sheepell Pastureville.

(Sharla's PoV)

"Thanks for the lift Gideon!" She said to her friend as he drove off in his pastry van.

"No problem Sharla, have a nice service!" He called out before he drove out of sight.

She sighed to herself as this was the third time, she had to ask for a lift to the pasture chapel she and other sheep used for service. "Need to get that darn car fixed." She muttered as she saw the little crowd of sheep already gathering near the chapel entrance. "I have to pray to my spirit big time for that miracle cure… arrived just in time… thought I would never get to see my family, friends, or Spirit Chapel again."

As she walked over to her brothers and sisters in the 'Caretakers' Spirit religion, while she believed that the Health Spirits had a hand in her salvation, she believed wholeheartedly that her Caretaker spirit was who kept her going, at least long enough for the other Spirits to work their miracles.

"Sharlaaaaa!" She heard a familiar voice call out.

She turned just in time for a rabbit about her size to leap and pull her into a tight hug, and she saw that it was none other than her old-time friend from her youth Judy Hopp.

"Judy, what are you doing here?"

"Hi Sharla, I heard from my mother that you recently got sick but recovered and wanted to say hi really quick!" Judy said as she got off.

Right behind her was a fox, probably Nick her fiancé, and both of them were wearing ZPD uniforms and wearing Kevlar body armor, and even had handguns in holsters with fancy looking glasses hanging off the side of their belts.

"Well what are you doing out here, you came a long way to check up on me, though it is nice to see you again girlfriend." She said warmly, happy that Judy had did what she set out to do and became a police officer.

"Oh, we were in the neighborhood." Nick claimed casually with a smile. "Judy wanted to stop by and say hi, so here we are."

"Well what were you doing way out here, Zootopia's like two hundred miles out right?"

"We… can't tell you… it's classified…" Judy said with a nervous glance around, as if checking to make sure nomammal was listening in.

"Classified, by who?" She asked now in confusion.

"A 'VIP'… a very 'big' VIP." Judy muttered.

"Who could be that big?"

"Tell ya what, take a gander over yonder." Nick said with a smirk, pointing at the entrance to the chapel pasture.

Curious she looked over and her eyes went wide, almost like they became nonexistent with what she saw sitting and 'standing' at the entrance to her species pasture chapel in Sheepelle Pastureville.

The first thing she saw was the beautiful silver carriage, the smooth curves and flowing metal that featured petals flowing as if in the wind embedded into it that belonged to none other than Jeremy Wilheart, the famous 'human' or 'spirit' as he species referred to them as. It gleamed and glimmered in the evening sun, glinting specks of sunlight this way and that way as it sat peacefully amid the low-cut grass and dirt wood. Surrounding it were various metal machines, some standing on two and others on four, one reminiscent of wolves and the other some ancient predator that she didn't know about. All of them stood proud and tall, looking with their shining blue eyes this way and that way, as if looking for a threat where none existed but still standing at attention, ready to fight and defend the entity that owned the vehicle and whom they served.

And speaking of the one they served, standing in the entryway to the pasture taller than all of them was none other than him… Jeremy, her 'savior'.

According to the doctors, the cure which they used was rushed over to their local hospital was developed in the human 'Eden Facility', among other cures and vaccines. Every day a new cure or vaccine was developed, and as each one was created it was mass produced and sent out to be used as needed 'freely'. She owed not only her life, but even her life savings to Jeremy, she could never have afforded the cure with how little she made… without him, she would have died.

"You… he's…" She squealed in shock as now other sheep were noticing him.

"Yep… we work with 'him'." Judy muttered with a smile before turning to him. "Hey Jeremy, come on over and meet my friend."

She only gasped in surprise as the human nodded and walked around the low brick wall surrounding the pasture and along the smooth dirt path between the grass over to them. In his hands was a small sphere resting on an equally small platform while the machines stayed with his carriage. Each step he walked she could feel her heart beating rapidly, unable to believe that a spirit, a 'living' spirit would even deign to visit their small chapel.

(Jeremy's PoV)

Right as he reached Judy and her friend, he knelt so he could be at their eye level and offered a handshake.

"Hi there, my name is Jeremy."

He watched as the sheep tentatively reached out and shook his hand, staring in shock at him along with all the other sheep and rams outside the building. The building itself looked like a barn made entirely of stone with painted glass which had the Sheep's religious symbols on them. On one glass he saw the four glittering stars representing the four spirits of Guidance, Health, Caretakers and Protection. On a second he saw the image of the upper half of a tree with various branches sticking out, obviously representing the branches of Selflessness, Positivity, Caring, Love, Carefulness, and Giving. Finally, on a third one he saw the lower half of the tree showing the roots sticking out, obviously to represent the practices of Fluffy Wool, Puffy Wool, Soft Wool, Straight Wool, Curly Wool and Floofy Wool.

"Hi… Mr. Spir… I mean... Jeremy!" She said almost in surprise and fear. "Please don't be offended if I addressed you wrong."

"I'm not offended, you're not the first sheep to call me 'spirit'." He said with a smile.

"Are you really a spirit?" A young voice asked him.

Turning to his left he saw a few lambs looking up at him in awe.

"Well I'm a human if that's what you mean." He said with a smile. "And this is my friend Aelita, my species guide."

Aelita curtsied warmly to the sheep inside her holosphere.

"Are you a spirit of Guidance?" One of them asked suddenly.

"No, he's a spirit of Health!"

"No, he's a spirit of Guidance obviously!"

"Please… I'm nothing like that I'm just a human…" He said with a nervous chuckle. "Though what is this place if you don't mind me asking."

"This Mr. uh… Jeremy…" An elderly sheep now said as he stepped forward, though he looked to be wearing a special necklace. "Is the Pastureville Chapel, and it's used four times a day for Spiritual Service, and we would be most honored if you would be willing to sit in on our service for tonight's Spirit of Guidance service."

He looked down at Aelita who looked up at him at the same time, asking her the silent question and she nodded with interest toward the chapel. She was just as curious about the Sheep's religion regarding his species as much as he was, and wanted to learn more about it firsthand. He turned to Judy and Nick to ask them if they didn't mind sticking around.

"Do you guys mind if we stay, Aelita and I are actually curious."

"Sure, why not, never been inside a sheep chapel." Judy said instantly.

"I'm actually curious too, I've heard from random mammals that sheep chapels are very warm."

Before they could go in however the sheep elder stopped Judy and Nick, "I'm afraid no 'weapons' are permitted inside the chapel, it would be very upsetting to the spirits to bring such threats to our places of worship." He explained.

"Don't worry guys, I think we're safe out here." Jeremy chuckled before calling to a DOG drone. "DOG drone, hold onto Judy and Nick's weapons for them!"

The nearest DOG nodded and clanked over to them, causing the sheep to quickly back away as it reached them, before opening its mouth and taking Judy's and Nick's firearms from them. It then clamped its mouth and clanked back over to the rest of the drones to stand guard while their group started going into the chapel.

Inside the chapel were rows upon rows of little benches where the sheep started to seat themselves, while at the front was a small podium. All along the walls were little candles that were being lit by attendees, who each took a small wick and lit one candle before going to sit down, casting the entire room in a warm and gentle light. Behind the podium at the front were bales of hay set up as miniature tables and upon each a cloth was draped to let various objects sit upon them. One object was a pair of rusted scissors, on another what looked like a small sewing machine, and finally on a third what looked like an exquisitely carved staff made from a branch. Next to the podium were four glass ornaments that each stood on their own little posts.

The elderly sheep walked over to one and picked it up before planting it on the podium before a light, sending a glittering spotlight to shine on the ceiling.

"Wow…" Jeremy muttered to Aelita who nodded in agreement.

The AI obviously understood the symbolism going on thanks to her knowledge of humanity including 'every' known religion ever practiced, but he was only understanding it through the pieces not the collective whole. Obviously, the candles represented the number of sheep who attended mass, the four glass ornaments represented the four main branches of their religion, and the items behind the stadium meant something of spiritual significance but other than that he was drawing blanks.

"Let's take a seat at the rear, since we're just observing." Judy muttered to them.

"Yea good idea." Nick muttered back.

He nodded and walked around the last row of benches and awkwardly sat cross legged, since he was already too big for the seats because they were made with 'sheep' in mind, not humans. After a while all the sheep, Ewes, Rams, and Lambs were seated the eldest sheep started the service.

"Brothers and sisters, I welcome you all to today's afternoon service for the Spirit of Guidance." He said in a calm and proud voice. "And we are blessed not only by the speedy recovery of one of our sisters in Sharla Blackwool, but we are also blessed, by none other than Jeremy Wilheart…"

At his name nearly every sheep turned to him and he awkwardly waved hi back to them, feeling uncomfortable with being stared at by so many.

"With that in mind, today's service will be a special one, as we not only give thanks to our Spirit of Guidance, but thank all 'four' of the celestial spirits for the gifts they offer us." The sheep continued. "Let us remember the spirits for all they have given us… what they asked of us, and what they did for us."

He turned to the pair of rusted scissors that, upon getting a better view of them looked like old sheep sheer scissors that his species once used before to cut wool from their ancestors.

"We remember the spirits in the heavenly bodies they inhabit, for the tending to our wool that our ancestors could not tend themselves, which we tend now in their honor, out of gratitude and knowing that even as we tend our wool our spirit tends to it alongside us…"

Almost on cue every single sheep pulled out a pair of scissors and trimmed a portion of their wool on their arms, cutting off out of place pieces to keep them pristine, while he put the sheers back and picked up the sewing kit now.

"We also remember the spirits for what they asked of our ancestors, for during the harsh cold and terrible fields, even as they tended to us, they asked for our wool to keep them warm and safe at night. So, we as their loyal flock remember and offer them our wool much like we offer all mammals our wool for use to make blankets, coats, and all else they use it for…"

From the middle isle the elder sheep stepped down from the podium and walked holding a bowl for the sheep to place the wool they trimmed off and threw into, obviously more symbolic than anything else, yet Jeremy and his party were extremely curious. They watched as he took the wool and placed the bowl it was kept in alongside the sewing machine back where it got it from, and then picked up the staff from its resting place.

"And finally, we remember the spirits and thank them… for our ancestors only means of protection from ancient predators were to group in large herds… until the spirits drove them all away and kept them safe. Were it not for them keeping us safe, watching over us, protecting us… our ancestors would be at the mercy of many predators… so now let us offer our thanks with but a moment of silence to thank our personal Spirit, for the gifts they gave us."

While all the sheep went quiet for their moment of silence Judy quietly whispered to him, "So did humans really do all that for sheep?"

"Pretty much, obviously I never saw a sheep outside of holoroom visits and images from the database, but according to history yea."

"So out of curiosity, how's it feel to be worshiped by them?" Nick asked quietly.

"I don't want them to worship me…" He replied instantly but quietly, out of respect to the sheep and their beliefs. "I don't want to be seen as this… great entity, some celestial being or anything else besides a human."

He knew humans were worshiped by the sheep thanks to learning about them from the Mayor's secretary, but he himself never wanted to be seen as a 'spirit'. He was just a human, he was no more special, no better than any other sentient creature on the planet. He was raised and trained to never consider himself better than others, or to grow an out of control ego. He was always taught that when someone believes another is 'inferior' to them, they can learn to believe 'everyone' is inferior to them.

He could feel Nick wince at that, but nodded in understanding. "No offense meant Jeremy… just meant it as a joke, not being serious."

"It's alright… I'm nothing special is all I'm saying… I'm just a simple human being."

(Aelita's PoV)

She listened to his words very carefully, before smiling proudly at what he said.

The rest of the service continued as normal, and she observed every detail she could, wanting to understand as much about the sheep's religion from their perspective, finding it fascinating that her creators would be worshipped as 'spirits' despite the sheep not knowing his species name or what they looked like but 'still' knowing they existed at one time.

Obviously, it was probably genetic memory inherited from generations upon generations of their ancestors, passing down the memories of humans caring and tending to them over the thousands of years that sheep and humans walked together. The genetic memory obviously manifested itself as foreknowledge of their existence, thus resulting in them creating this religion and belief using those faint memories they managed to keep and understand.

She smiled as she pulled up a holo hud while Jeremy and the others all began to leave, deciding to do a bit of research for her own purposes. If sheep inherited genetic memories of humans, she wondered what other species might have inherited memories from 'their' ancestors.

It was truly fascinating to learn this firsthand rather than just absorbing all the information on the net.

Just as she began looking up various imagery to confirm or intrigue her speculations on the development of genetic memory, for a full tenth of a nano-second her scans into the interweb detected a strange signal traveling on a frequency that she wasn't able to detect. What was weird was that the moment she detected it, the signal cut off… almost like it 'knew' she detected it and deleted itself to avoid being spotted.

Glancing at Jeremy she decided to keep it to herself, it was only there for a tenth of a nanosecond, she needed to learn more before she could give him anything concrete.

(Jeremy's PoV)

After the sheep's service he and everyone left the little chapel and was swiftly accosted and asked many questions by the sheep, especially the little ones. All of them were asking about humans, were they all the same, did they have special powers, did they protect the flocks like their religion said they did? He answered what he could, mostly just general information and nothing else. They asked if humans were predators or prey, and he simply replied he and all other humans were Omnivores, but even humans had a substantial vegetarian population among them.

Finally, at long last he had to leave them and return to Zootopia, because it was starting to get late and, while it wasn't winter at night it got colder out in the rural area, and he didn't want to risk his disease triggering.

"Thank you all for allowing me to attend, and thank you all for showing me more of your religion." He said respectfully.

"Wait before you go!" A familiar voice called out, and Judy's friend Sharla stepped forward. "I just want to say thank you for what you did, you saved my life with the cure you developed…"

He nodded with a smile as he knelt and shook her hand. "You don't have to thank me for anything, I only did what anyone would do. Every life is valuable, and everyone deserves to be treated for any sickness they have. Besides, its not 'me' who you should be thanking, it's Ema who made that cure for you, I'm just the human who asked her to help where I couldn't."

"And that's why I'm thanking you Mr. Jeremy." Sharla said with a smile.

He nodded again and got up to wave goodbye, thanking them all again as he, Judy and Nick climbed into the carriage amid goodbyes and invitations to return. Within seconds the autopilot had locked in Zootopia's location and took off with the drones keeping pace at full speed.

"Well that was nice visiting Sharla again and seeing her species religion." Judy said warmly. "I honestly never knew her species held humans in such high regard."

"I just hope they don't extend that to me…" He muttered.

"I'm sure they won't do something crazy like labeling you anything related to their religion." Nick said in agreement.

They sat in the solar carriage and chatted for another two hours, talking and conversing about everything that happened that day, but Jeremy asking to make sure that word of 'Celios' had not left their private circle. Despite Jeremy's claim stating that he would 'leave' the drone intact, in truth he couldn't hope to dismantle the drone. Its armor was just too strong, the ANTs couldn't get near him, and all the weapons installed into the drone were preventing him safely destroying it.

That and outside of Aelita and Alexander, Celios was the only other entity that had knowledge and came from his own time period, meaning he simply could not bring himself to destroy it.

On top of those reasons, was the fact that Celios wasn't 'evil', it was just trying to obey its directive, despite how it acted and went about carrying out its actions it truly wanted only the best for him. It chained itself to show it meant no harm to him, pleaded with him to let it act as it was programmed to, 'begged' him listen to it. How could he just destroy it after that?

So, to ensure that the Category 10 remained a secret, he asked Gazelle, Judy and Nick to not speak a word of it to anyone. If word of the destructive power of Celios was known, the mayor would 'demand' he destroy it, and he was sure that Celios would find some way to use that knowledge to his advantage and break free of the chains holding him now to carry out his threat. For now, Celios was kept chained, under the threat that Jeremy would kill himself if he attempted to break out.

It wasn't ideal, but it was the best he could do to keep the drone around 'and' keep it restrained.

Gazelle agreed, as did Judy and Nick, they all knew how dangerous it was but also knew it was still important to Jeremy.

As they entered Zootopia and made their way to Judy and Nick's apartment, his carriage gained a ton of attention because of all the drones escorting it.

"Thanks for the ride Jeremy, and hope you have a good night!" Judy said as they got out.

"Be safe now." Nick laughed as they left and the carriage took off for the next destination, the Eden Facility so he could return to Gazelle's home in her limo.

Before they reached it however, a phone call rang in the carriage and Aelita quickly answered it. **"Hi Jeremy, it's Gazelle, sorry to call you but I was wondering if you were interested in getting dinner with my friends?"** Gazelle asked warmly through Aelita. **"They were planning to go out eating and I asked them to take you to a restaurant to eat."**

"Sure, I don't mind but why don't you want to go?" He asked curiously.

"**I've already eaten sadly, and they plan on going to a 'predator' eating place."** She replied. **"I know you need meat in your diet, so they offered to take you!"**

He glanced at 'Aelita' who nodded in agreement.

"Alright sure Gazelle, I'll tell them thank you for you!"

"**Don't worry Jeremy, next time I'll prepare a nice dinner for us both~!"** She said cheerfully. **"I'll see you later~."**

Aelita shrugged a little to indicate the call ended and looked at him expectantly. "You don't suppose she's trying to avoid eating around me because of the meat, do you?"

Aelita rolled her eyes and shook her head, before creating an image of her and the tiger brothers with a knowing smile.

"Yea but she also lived alone before she invited me, she doesn't 'have' to eat with them." He clarified for her.

She nodded but again created an image of Gazelle in a news headline which said she spoke out against unfair treatment of innocent predators during the 'Night Howler' incident.

"Point made Aelita… I honestly shouldn't be judging her for anything considering what she's done for me…" He said. "It's just… sometimes I wonder…"

Aelita looked at him with a 'what is it' expression, before using the Carriage's holo-emitters to appear next to him in the seat and smiled warmly, before flicking a holographic copper coin and offering it to him.

"Aelita… do you think it's possible for me and Gazelle to… I don't know… be a 'thing'?" He asked her honestly. "She's a 'prey' mammal… we aren't even the same species and I'm wondering if… she would ever 'love' someone like me."

Aelita looked almost surprised before she smiled and placed her holographic hand against his heart, while at the same time taking on Gazelle's appearance. She nodded in approval while also putting her other hand on her own heart, before resuming her normal form again.

"But… sigh…" He whispered bitterly. "Would she even 'want' to be with me is what I'm asking… she would probably be happier with another Antelope, another mammal 'any' mammal. How could I make her happy, what can I honestly do for her?"

He looked at Aelita who looked sad at him before she pointed at him, then drew a heart with her fingers in mid-air, and then finally pointed at the air to signify 'Gazelle'.

"Honestly Aelita… I do love her… it's probably just a Florence Nightingale effect from her saving my life, and then helping me with everything, but I really do love her." He said. "And I'm honestly 'afraid' to admit it to her, because what can I give her that no other mammal can't?"

Aelita frowned at him before she closed her eyes and tilted her head upward to bathe herself in a bright light, then she took on the form of a young woman with flowing hair that ended in curls. **"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, only what you are expecting to give, which is 'everything."** She said warmly and knowingly, before vanishing in a cascade of lights to return to her holosphere as the carriage slowed down.

He waited for it to stop before getting out to climb into Gazelle's limo which was parked close by. Once he and Aelita were inside, Moe who was driving took off while the carriage and drones entered the underground passage.

"So, how's it going Jeremy?" Franky asked warmly.

"It's alright, I've given the seed to Judy's family to raise and left a drone to protect it and them." He answered.

"Will it be alright out there; I thought those machines couldn't last outside of your base?" Joe asked.

"I had the ANTs pull out a charging port and modified it so that it will keep the drone powered and running. Provided none of the Hopps deliberately break it, the drone will be fine."

"That drone's probably going to be bored out of its mind, imagine just standing and staring at single spot day and night with no breaks." Donny said.

"That's why I chose a category five drone, it won't get distracted like a six might." He chuckled.

"How do you tell them apart, are they labeled or something that tells which is a six or a five or something?" Moe asked from the front as they turned down a road.

"No, they aren't, but each drone acts differently depending on if it's a six or a five or something, outside of the obvious ones like the ANTs or HORSE. Drones with category six AIs tend to talk more eloquently and frequently, whereas fives talk in simplified terms and speak with as few words as possible. Six's also tend to get distracted unless kept busy while fives don't concern themselves with anything outside of their assigned tasks."

"Sounds complicated, iuno how you keep track of them all." Donny said with a chuckle.

"You get used to it, also being the only human means I have to keep my eye on them all… well only the RAPTORs, FOXes and DOGs. Ema can manage without me for the most part, and the ANTs can't talk."

The drive to the restaurant ended after a while with traffic causing a delay, but once they reached it Moe parked the limo nearby and they quickly walked in to avoid passersby seeing him and causing a scene. However, that quickly ended once he walked in and was seated.

"Hi there, welcome to Roadhog's Pigsty may I…" The porcupine waitress asked before she realized who was 'sitting'. "Oh my… sweet caramel it's you Mr. Human… oh my goodness this is an… uhm… ho-ho-how may I serve you today?"

"Uhm we'll have the Pleasant Pheasant for Five meal, with a side order of Chubby Muffins… four beers and, you okay with a warm glass of water Jeremy?" Franky asked as he looked over the menu for them.

"Yea, thank you very much Franky." He replied, having 'no idea' what to order and just glad that the tiger brothers knew what to get here.

"Okay I'll get your order then!" The porcupine waitress said as she ran off to deliver their order.

"I love seeing how mammals react to seeing you in public." Donny muttered.

They sat in silence for a while as they waited for their meal to arrive, with Aelita twirling in her holosphere as she had nothing to do but twirl for their amusement.

"Hey Jeremy, we've been wanting to ask you about Gazelle." Moe said suddenly catching him off guard.

"Uh… sure what is it?" He asked.

"We wanted to ask you how you feel about her?" Franky continued with a look of nervousness on his face.

That caught him really off guard, he was not expecting 'that' out of Gazelle's backup dancer friends. Though now that he thought about it, he really should not have been surprised that they would ask him that, they 'are' her close friends, if anyone suspected anything happening between him and her it would be them. "Am I really that obvious…?" He asked quietly.

"Yea, we kind of figured that you two liked each other, we just wanted to know how you 'really' felt about her." Donny continued.

"Sorry we're asking suddenly, but we just wanted to be sure you care about her… cause you're the 'only' male she's ever gotten this close to that we know of." Joe said seriously. "She's had mammals trying to date her for years since she became popular, even her ex-boyfriend tried staying with her, but he only ever wanted her to spend money for him, and since then she always lives alone."

"But even 'after' you became almost as popular and so liked by mammals, and have your base to live in now she 'still' wants you to live with her." Franky said. "We've also seen how she acts around you bro, we've never seen her so happy with anymammal like she is with you. So that's why we're asking how you feel about her?"

He sighed as he thought about his answer, before giving his 'painful' response.

"I love her… no doubt about it you guys." He said to them, causing them to smile and nod to one another. "That's why I'm afraid to be with her, and why I'm afraid I 'can't' be with her."

That caught them off guard, all except Aelita who hid her expression behind a look of curiosity.

"As much as I love her, and as much as I'm sure you guys would want us to be together… I'm afraid of what will happen to her because of me. First there's the problem of me being Human and her being a Mammal, while some will approve and like it, many more will not want us being together… and if someone wants to hurt her they'll have an easier time reaching her than me, meaning I'll need to protect her with my drones. I'm used to living with drones and having them watch my every move and action all my life, but her… I don't think she could take it." He then sighed as he thought about another issue with them being together. "Then what about children… I'm sure it's hard for predators and prey to get together and have kids, but what about a human and a mammal, it was already impossible for crossbreeding between animals and humans in my time, I honestly doubt it's no more possible for us now than it was back then. What if Gazelle wants a child, what if she wants to have a family… I can't give her a family. Sure, you can say there's adopting but, it's just not the same… what if she 'wants' that deep connection to her offspring? That's something I can't give her no matter how hard I try or want to…"

He sighed as he shook his head.

"As much as I love her, and want to be with her… I would rather her be happy with another, then potentially be miserable with me."

He felt his heart beat painfully at his own admission, but he silenced its complaints. This was something he had to think about for Gazelle's sake, not just himself. It would be crueler of him to deprive her of a potential future with another mammal. No matter how much he wished to be with her. While he sat there thinking those dark thoughts, he felt a burly hand pat him on the shoulder.

"We understand Jeremy, and we're happy that you really do care about our friend like that." Donny said with a smile. "Just know you have our support if you do end up getting together with her. We'd love to see you two together, just saying."

He too wanted to have that happen, simply because he loved Gazelle so much, but as their food finally arrived and they all started eating, with the Tiger Brothers looking 'fascinated' that he ate meat like they did, he just feared the outcome of them being together. Too many possible negatives, not enough positives to outweigh them, and of course the unknown variable that was Gazelle herself and if she truly wanted to be with him. It would be selfish of him to do that to her, and he knew the consequences when one was selfish, he was living proof of it.

Aelita acted selfishly, thus why he was alive.

(Mr. Vulps PoV)

"Ugh, what a day, I hate overtime…" He muttered as he slowly trudged out the back door of the restaurant he worked as a dish washer and began to make his way home. "Thank goodness I have tomorrow off."

It had been a rough week for him, first he lost his one job, then he fell behind on paying rent for his family and their bills, and now he had to 'ask' to get some overtime at his dish washing job. But the one thing he was grateful for, was that at least his family was healthy and whole, that one saving grace was what let him sleep at night.

Every day he was grateful to that human, Jeremy, both he and his wife truly grateful that he'd saved their son's life when he was in desperate need of help. Gazelle did all she could to cheer him up, make his day better, but Jeremy truly saved their son's life with his near act of sacrifice.

Though the one thing he wished he'd paid attention to before he left was what the staff was getting so excited about while he was busy scrubbing dirty dishes. They had been going nuts over an order for a 'Pleasant Pheasant for Five' meal, with the cooks bringing out a fresh bird and other ingredients, the oven being carefully managed, and everything inspected before it was sent out.

He never asked because he was so mentally drained.

"Whatever, time to head home and relax…" He muttered as he made his way to the sidewalk and saw a fancy limo parked on the street outside the restaurant. "Huh, wonder what big shot decided to eat here?"

Right on cue the door opened, and several burly tigers walked out while talking to themselves.

"Ooooh, that was a good meal!" One of them called out.

Guessing they were some big shot group or something he started walking away.

"I love eating the Pheasants here, and can you believe bros that we got a discount?"

"They probably did it because of our buddy here, you saw how the cook acted when he walked over and checked to see if everything was alright!"

"Yea, he looked like he was going to panic when 'Jeremy' said the muffins felt cold!"

At the word 'Jeremy' he stopped and stared at the group as they left, and saw the last mammal leaving was…

"I was really sorry, but it did feel cool to me, and you know I can't risk anything cool triggering my Cryogenetic Sclerosis." The human apologized as he walked out with a glass sphere held in his hands, and inside was a glowing girl that looked almost like him but a 'female' version.

At seeing the human, he just 'had' to talk to him, he might not get this chance again. The last time he tried to talk to the human he had to visit the human's 'Eden Facility, and the machines instantly denied him access. They wouldn't even let him get to the door, and refused to acknowledge his request, stating that only 'authorized individuals' were permitted to enter the base. When he asked about Jeremy, they simply responded 'All information regarding Jeremy Wilheart's location is classified', and then told him to leave.

"W-wait, Mr. Human wait!" He yelled as he ran toward the group.

Instantly all of them turned toward him and the tigers got in front of the human to protect him, three of them standing together while the fourth quickly held his arms in front to stop him from going forward.

"Sir, just back away, alright just back away…" The tiger said.

"Wait please, I just want to talk you don't understand!"

"Guys, it's okay…" A calm voice said.

The tiger holding him back looked back and nodded before he and the others stepped aside to let the human step forward. He could only watch as he knelt before him and asked with a gentle expression, "Hi there, I'm sorry if you took that wrong. They were just protecting me, is there anything I can help you with?" while also offering his hand to shake.

He just breathed deeply, just unable to form a proper sentence to talk to him. This human just had this… 'aura' about him, this gentle, almost glowing aura about him. Like he could trust this human with anything, and that human wanted to trust him just as equally.

"No, it's just…" He started saying before he gulped and shook the human's hand. "My name is Harvey Vulps and I just wanted to thank you sir… you saved my son… with your Synthorgan. My wife and I as well as my kids were terrified of losing him, we could not find a donor for weeks and his condition only worsened. But… you saved his life with those… miracle organs of yours. And I've just… been wanting to thank you for so long since then."

"Your son…" Jeremy said as he looked thoughtful before he looked up again. "Was your son suffering from a heart cancer which developed a tumor that also spread to his liver?"

He was even more shocked to learn that the human knew the exact condition his son was suffering. "Yes… yes how did you-?"

"A good friend of mine who was visiting your son that day told me." He replied with a smile. "I'm glad to know that it arrived in time and that your son's life was saved. The Synthorgans are the most powerful medical technology we have at our disposal, and they were only meant to be used in emergency cases, meaning when a human's organ was too damaged to be saved. But, since I'm the only human… your son's need was more dire. I'm sorry that his real heart was lost, but know that his new heart will grow as he does as if it were his original heart."

'_A good friend who was visiting his son told him?'_ He thought in surprise. _'Gazelle told Jeremy that my son was sick? If she didn't tell the human, then…'_

He owed Gazelle even more thanks than, because without that knowledge Jeremy might not have risked his life to save his son.

Speaking of his son…

"Jeremy… would it be too much to ask if I could introduce you to him?" He asked quickly. "It would mean so much to me if you met my family."

"We have been doing a lot of traveling today…" He muttered quietly before looking at the glowing girl. "What do you think Aelita?"

The glowing girl nodded happily.

"Alright but first…" He said before turning to the tigers now. "Do you guys mind a side trip?"

"We don't mind." They said politely.

"Alright then, do you have a car or something and we can follow?"

"No, I just walk home…" He said sadly.

"Will Gazelle mind if we take her limo really quick?" He asked the tigers again.

"Nah I don't think she'll mind." One of them said.

"Then let's get going!" Jeremy declared at last, and within minutes they were off and driving to his apartment building.

While riding in the limo he sat next to Jeremy and all the while felt out of place. First, he was inside Gazelle's private limo, that alone said he didn't belong in there. Second, he was sitting next to 'Jeremy', the big hero of all mammals and his own son's savior for what he risked his life to give. Finally, said human was going to visit his home, for no other reason than because he asked. How in the name of the planet was he going to explain to his family or give him such hospitality that he deserved?

They just ate so he couldn't serve him a light meal, he couldn't serve him any drinks because of his disease, and 'small talk'? How does one make small talk with a legendary species?

'_Ooooh if the wife doesn't die of a heart attack tonight, it will be a miracle…'_

(Jeremy's PoV)

As they arrived at the apartment building, he grimaced 'slightly' because of the obvious 'low income' status of the area. The building had some graffiti on it, a few other buildings didn't look the best maintained, there was trash littering the alleyway and there was even a signpost broken in half just sitting there on the ground. One building even had a broken window, the glass shattered in a way that meant someone threw a ball into it.

The few vehicles on the street weren't all that impressive, some were a little rusted or outdated, and it was clear this area didn't get much police attention.

"I think I'll park the limo somewhere else and watch it while you all go inside!" Moe called from the driver's seat. "No offense Mr. Vulps, the neighborhood just doesn't look safe for the limo."

"Don't worry about it Moe, Aelita's already got a drone en route to us, should be here in half a minute." Jeremy called out as Aeita showed him in her sphere a drone's signal moving toward their location.

They had been close enough to the facility that Aelita could call upon a drone to reach them, obviously knowing the risk to Gazelle's limo and knowing he didn't want to risk it getting damaged 'or' wanting to leave one of the tiger brothers out of meeting Mr. Vulps family with him.

The AI had called upon it the moment they got in the limo to drive here.

As Moe started parking, he spotted a single DOG drone clank into view and sit near the vehicle to watch over it, allowing them all to exit and leave it in safety.

**[Bark Bark, DOG unit P-14 arriving as ordered!]** It stated. **[Commencing Guard Duty, Bark Bark!]**

"I'm sorry Mr. Human, this neighborhood isn't too bad… most nights at least." Mr. Vulps apologized.

"It's okay." He said as the fox led the way.

"Bros check it out, we've got a 'Guard Dog'." Donny chuckled.

All of them chuckled while Donny and Moe bumped fists at the joke, even Jeremy laughed a little at the drone's expense while Aelita giggled in mirth.

They walked into the building and up a flight of stairs, to the third floor where he knocked on a door and unlocked it. "Honey… we have company!"

"Harvey I 'swear', if you brought your friends from work to drink…" A female voice called out angrily as the tiger brothers entered before him. "Who are all these…"

He walked in after, though he had to bend down a bit alongside Donny and his brothers because the door wasn't meant for 'tall mammals'. He walked in to see a 'decently' sized kitchen space with the paint peeling slightly and several dishes in the middle of being cleaned, and a female fox wearing an apron and gloves looking in shock as she saw four tigers, him 'and' Aelita enter their home.

"O… o… ooooooh my…" She almost whispered in such a low tone it was barely audible. "H… h… how…"

"Honey… this is Jeremy and his friends." Mr. Vulps said to his shocked wife.

"W… welcome… to our home!" She said nervously, as if afraid to mutter anything else out of shock.

"Mom who is it?" Another female voice called out, and this time a younger fox who appeared to be in her teen years walked in while holding a textbook to look at them.

Which promptly fell to the floor as she saw who it was.

"Uhm… 'hi'…" He muttered with a nervous smile and a wave. "I'm Jeremy Wilheart, nice to meet you. This is Aelita my friend, and these are Donny, Joe, Moe and Franky, also friends of mine."

The young fox only gave a short wave before quickly grabbing her book and dashing out of sight.

"Jeremy sure has an effect on the ladies~." Franky muttered with a chuckle, which also got his other brothers to chuckle as well.

After a few moments Mr. Vulps showed them their living room which was better kept and seated them all on the couch while his wife rapidly got out of the apron and combed her fur to make herself presentable, though when her husband went to check on her they could hear her whispering angrily 'You couldn't have given me five minutes warning?'. At the same time, he was introduced to the Vulps 'other' children, a pair of young cubs that looked to be less than eight or nine years old, and then finally to the cub whose life he saved.

"Wow it's really you!" The cub said excitedly. "You're my big hero mister!"

"I'm glad you think that." He said with a chuckle as he and the tiger brothers were served some tea from Mrs. Vulps. "How are you doing health wise, feeling any side effects from the new heart?"

"Nothing, I don't feel any pain when I breathe anymore, and I haven't had to visit a doctor in months!" The cub said happily. "Where did you get it, the doctor said my new heart was special, that it came from 'humans'?"

"It was built, carefully created using special materials to make it function as intended." He explained while Aelita took on the form of the Synthorgan to show them. "Each Synthorgan was designed in such a way that no matter who it was given to, it would work for them as if it belonged to them, as if it had been with them their whole lives."

"Wooooow…" The twin cubs said as they stared at the hologram, though probably because it looked pretty to them rather than the technical marvel it was.

"But… but… can my new heart get sick like when I got sick before?" The cub asked quickly.

Jeremy shook his head with a smile. "That heart can't get sick, no matter how hard a disease might try, it's immune to all diseases because it's synthetic. Even if you tried that heart will be the last thing to be affected by anything, but it will keep you happy and running."

"I want to say thank you again Jeremy, for saving my son with what you did." Mrs. Vulps said warmly. "I was very afraid… so afraid of losing my little dumpling… but you saved his life."

"It's alright ma'am, I just did what anyone else would have done." He replied with a smile.

"Hey dad, dad, can I show Jeremy something in my room really quick?" The son asked suddenly, sounding very excited.

"Sure, go ahead, if you don't mind Jeremy?" The dad asked him.

"I don't mind, Aelita do you want to join?" He asked the AI who was sitting on the little table in front of them.

Aelita shook her head before winking at him, and then using her hand to gesture that she wanted to sing.

"I guess Aelita wants to perform for you guys." He said as the fox cub jumped excitedly and urged him to follow.

Aelita nodded as he followed, and within seconds she began singing… **(Cinematic lights are glowing, visions everywhere… night line, takes me to a world so unknown…)**

While she sang he was literally pulled 'into' the cub's room which was small and had two beds in it, one blue and the other pink, indicating this was probably the teenage fox's bedroom as well, and as he noticed she was sitting there on her bed while frantically searching through her backpack without realizing he was in there now.

"Bro how many times have I told you to kno-…" She started saying angrily before she saw him in there as well.

"Sorry sis I just wanted to show him what I drew in school!" The brother said as he walked over to his bed and pulled down taped up crayon drawings to show him. "Look, this is what I drew in class!"

He looked at the little paper drawings and saw that the fox cub had drawn himself looking weak and sick with the caption 'old heart', and next to it was him stronger and the caption 'new heart'. Another picture was Jeremy, poorly drawn but still recognizably him though with exaggerated features like big muscles while wearing a flowing cape, and with the caption 'my hero'. The third picture had his carriage, also poorly drawn, and surrounded by mammals labeled 'bad guys' while his drones, poorly drawn drones, labeled as 'good guys' were shown scaring them off and rescuing him. The third picture was labeled 'our heroes saving my hero'.

A fourth image showed buildings on fire on one side, but had silly spiders around it spraying water on the fire, and then on the next very angular 'HARRIER' drones, also poorly drawn, flying around in circles amid a giant cloud while it rained. The image was labeled 'spiders saving homes' and 'flying heroes make rain'.

"Really cool huh?" The cub asked eagerly.

"Yea, you really captured my drones quite nicely." He said with a smile with a chuckle. "Although I don't think I have muscles 'that' big."

"Yea but you are a big hero!" He said proudly. "Hey, did those metal mammals do those things for humans too?"

At that his smile faltered slightly, but he still smiled to set him at ease. "Yea… they did that sometimes."

"Hey, where did you get them, where did they come from?" The cub asked him eagerly. "Did humans have them always? Are they like from outer space or something really cool?"

"Nope, we didn't always have them, we made them ourselves." He said warmly.

"That is soooo cool." He said in amazement. "Can you make 'anything'?"

"Depends but yea, if I want to make a drone, I can make it, it just depends on if I 'can' make it or not." He said.

"Can you teach me to do that?"

He chuckled as he smiled at him, imagining the little fox cub creating his own drone line in the future. "Maybe…" He whispered before he had an idea flash into his mind. "Hey, would you like to visit the place where the drones and I live? The Eden Facility?"

"CAN I REALLY?" He yelled excitedly.

"Only if your parents let you."

"Mooooom daaaaaaad!" The cub yelled in excitement as he ran out of the room without even bringing him as well.

He chuckled as he got up to leave, before his elder sister stopped him by grabbing his shirt. He looked back to see her nervously holding his shirt while holding her book with one hand.

"Uhm… if it's okay… can I show you something too?" She half whispered.

"Sure." He replied while sitting down on the floor.

She took a deep breath and opened her book to a specific page to show him a pencil drawing of his face. The image was unlike her brother's images, and it showed that she had spent a very long time drawing it. His face was almost perfectly captured with shading along his face, and his hair was almost exactly how it looked like it did now. She had taken some liberties by drawing his eyes to be slightly more exaggerated, and his chin was slightly more angular, but it was obvious that she had poured her heart into it. Though he noticed that it was 'outlined' in a heart.

"That's very nice, you have good attention when it comes to details." He told her, pretending to be ignorant of the heart. "It reminds me of a friend of mine who also liked to draw."

"I drew it… after I learned who you were…" She muttered shyly. "You have no idea how… happy… grateful my family is… that you saved my brother. I thought I'd lose him, that I'd never see him again and… when I found out who saved him I just…"

Her hands shook a little as she looked up at him.

"I know it won't probably happen… all my friends make fun of me for fantasizing about you, heck they do the same too but… I want to ask would you be my boyfriend?"

He kept his breathing even as he took his time to reply, knowing this outcome would happen just because of the heart. He also knew it would be painful no matter what he said. But he was prepared for this outcome, having been preparing a response if Gazelle ever asked him and he 'had' to reject her.

"What's your name?"

"Lizzie… Lizzie Vulps." She replied quietly with a blush.

"Well Lizzie… I'm honored that you would ask me for that…"

"But your answer is no, right?" She asked instantly with a frown.

He nodded with a sad smile.

"Can I at least… be told why?"

"First of all, you're too young for something like that, especially with someone as old as me. Don't forget I'm over three hundred and fifty thousand years old if you skip over the fact that I was frozen." He said with a laugh that also got her to giggle. "Second, you deserve to be with someone you know, someone who cares about you and will love you for who you are. Not a complete stranger whom you only met today, and don't know anything about outside of what they did for you, something that 'anyone' with a heart can do."

He held her hand with his and patted it with an understanding smile.

"I know you probably have a crush on me because of my deeds, but what one does through their deeds only tells half of the story about them. It's what they do for others when nothing is at stake, and how others act toward them when they seek nothing in exchange that helps to tell the full story of who they are as a person. You only know me because I saved your brother and for the vaccines and cures, but I'm not the one making the cures. The Synthorgan technology was made by my people, I just pulled it out of the facility. Ema is doing all of the real work, I just asked her to do it for you guys, where she would only have done it for me. I'm only a messanger from my people, I only do what they can't do because they aren't here…" He said in as gentle a tone as he could. "So, for those reasons, I have to reject your request to be your boyfriend. You'll find someone better, someone who will love you for who you are, and whom you'll love just as much. Not for what they can do for you, or have done for you or vice versa, but for who they are and who you are."

She looked crestfallen but she smiled sadly while closing her eyes and nodded in understanding.

"Thanks for dropping me gently Jeremy, I'll take what you said to heart."

"Put it this way, at least you have a chance to find a boyfriend." He said while getting up to leave.

"Why can't you find a girlfriend?" She asked curiously.

He frowned slightly as he avoided eye contact. "It's complicated." He said without saying anything else.

He walked out into the living room accompanied by the daughter, and quickly explained that she'd been showing him her art book of the pictures she's drawn as well to not be outdone by her brother. The family bought it and she gave him a thumb's up in gratitude. When the parents asked if what their son said was true, he said yes it was.

"If you guys want to visit the facility, I'd be more than happy to give you a tour, show you some of the stuff inside. Your son seemed very excited about it since he wants to learn so much about my drones and technology." He said. "I can show you my facility's Solar Core, introduce you to Ema, show you where the Synthorgans came from, and the holoroom."

"You're going to the holroom again?" Franky asked excitedly. "Can we tag along also?"

"More the merrier." he said while winking at Aelita, who nodded in understand and began typing away in midair. "Ask Gazelle too if she wants to join, since we've still got her limo. As for your visit, since it is rather late do you guys want to spend the night at the facility, or would you rather return home?"

"Can we stay over there pleeeeeeease?" all the cubs asked eagerly with big eyes, even the eldest daughter putting on her best 'puppy eyes'.

"Well… it 'is' a weekend, why not?" The mother said with a chuckle.

"Yaaaaaaaaay!" They all screamed excitedly.

"Now be on your best behavior or else!" The father said.

With everything settled and Donny calling Gazelle to ask her if she wanted to visit the facility again to tour it with the fox family and her accepting, they all proceeded to leave and walk downstairs. However, while Donny and his brothers would take the limo to pick up Gazelle, he told the Vulps they wouldn't be going in the limo.

"Are we going to walk to your home?" Mr. Vulps asked curiously.

"No, we're taking a ride." He said as they drove off in the limo.

"Well then how are we getting there Mr. Jeremy?" The mother asked now.

He just smiled and looked to his left as the clattering clop of hooves on pavement sounded, and they all gasped in surprise as HORSE walked into the street while dragging his Solar Carriage, followed by one DOG drone and two RAPTOR drone escorts, to join the first DOG drone still sitting there.

"If you have to ride… ride in style." He replied with a smirk as the carriage pulled up and the doors opened upon his command.

"This is so awesome!" The son shouted as they all got in with Jeremy and Aelita entering last.

"Well, let's get going then… HORSE, to Eden Facility 17 East Entrance!"

**[Destination locked, all units moving out!]** The drone called out before moving.

While the fox family was busy admiring the vehicle's spacious interior as well as the comfortable seating, he looked to Aelita and nodded at her to indicate he wanted to ask for her help. "Aelita, I wonder if you could do me a huge favor?"

She smirked at him before resting her chin on her hands and mouthed 'I'm listening'.

Making sure they were distracted he bent low and whispered his request and gave her the instructions and details. She nodded and gave him a thumbs up while typing away, after a while she swayed from side to side before nodding and giving him a gesture, indicating that it would be done tomorrow morning.

"Thanks a lot, will you be able to handle it?"

She smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

After about ten minutes of HORSE trotting along they finally reached the East Entrance to the facility and entered the underground tunnel while walking past the drones standing guard. At the back of the tunnel near the door to the base stood the three Goliath Spider Drones, curled up and shut down awaiting orders. He'd decided that it was easier to just leave them outside the base when he realized that if they were needed again that it would take too much time to transport them out of the base. The same went for the two HARRIER drones which sat in excavated tunnels the drones dug out so the two flying drones could sit in standby mode. It was just too much effort and time consuming to keep breaking them down and then transport the pieces inside or outside again.

Once they came to a stop, he stepped out with Aelita and led the way to the base entrance, where two RAPTOR drones stood watching and standing guard alongside a FOX drone, which all became suspicious upon seeing the Vulps family.

**[Greetings Unit Jeremy, welcome back.]** The FOX stated.

"Hello drone, they're all with me as my guests and expect Gazelle and her friends to be arriving as well, let them in upon arrival." He told it.

**[Understood, all units have been notified…]** The drone said before turning to the fox family and scanned them with the RAPTORs. **[Facial identities and bio signatures confirmed, welcome to Eden Facility 17!]**

With that the drones bowed them into the base as the door opened and Jeremy led the way in. Their first destination was the command center where various view screens showing areas being watched were shown in holographic form. While he showed them the room various drones were walking to and from, some going out to stand watch and others returning to recharge.

"Where do they all go?" Mrs. Vulps asked as two FOX drones walked past, ignoring them as they went about their business.

"The drones have their own section of the base where they go to recharge, it's not exactly something spectacular or impressive."

"Can we see anyway?" The smaller twins asked eagerly.

He looked at Aelita who shrugged nonchalantly. So, after showing them the grav-elevators and showing them how they can float between floors, they went down several floors toward the drone's charging room. Inside the mostly dark room were rows upon rows of empty charging ports where the drones would back into various slots, plug in, shut down and then recharge. There were already dozens upon dozens of drones recharging, none of them paying any attention to them or acknowledging they were there.

"Well this is where they sleep essentially, each drone is on a charge cycle and they tend to follow it strictly." He said as a RAPTOR walked past them, turned around and flipped open its tail to expose its charging connector before walking backward and sliding into its slot. Once connected it shut down and became motionless. "They go here to recharge, and afterwards they go right back to doing what they were instructed to do."

"There are a lot more slots here than there are drones… where are they all?" Mr. Vulps asked curiously.

"A lot of them were… dismantled, for various reasons and others are currently patrolling the facility on various levels."

"Do you get visitors often, is that why they're watching it so much?" The daughter asked curiously.

"No, Sentinel the base AI just does it so that the drones remain active. If the drones don't have something to do their AIs tend to wander and become distracted, and that leads to some issues with their AIs performing properly." He explained as they left. "Most of the more commonly seen drones here are intelligent enough to be on par with you, but lack certain things like empathy and emotions or morality. They tend to just follow orders based on whatever their programming dictates without really basing their actions on potential consequences."

Their next destination that he brought them was the Solar Core room, and he explained why the room's heavy security was warranted.

"This room is the 'most important' room in the entire facility." He said as they approached the magnetically sealed doors, guarded over by four RAPTOR drones, six DOG drones, with two FOX drones standing watch and four additional DOGs patrolling nearby. "Brace yourself, because this is a room you will 'never' forget feeling the first time… I still remember when I saw it the first time."

The drones nodded at their approach and parted, granting them access as the doors opened to reveal a bright light filled room with solar panels glinting, and a huge wave of heated air escaping it. Instantly the children of the family rushed forward with their parents following behind and Jeremy lagging behind, having been in there several times. Yet all their reactions were just as expected and equally unique.

"Woooooow…" They all said as they leaned over and stared down below.

"It's so beautiful…" Mrs. Vulps said in awe.

"Now that is something you don't see every day…" Mr. Vulps muttered as Jeremy joined them to look at the core.

He looked at the solar core, the beautiful glowing orb of fire resting in its glass-silicon container held up by two pillars and rotating ever so slightly, casting the entire room in its beautiful light and bathing the room with its heat, making them feel as if they were standing outside on a summer's day with not a cloud to be found. He looked over and saw each of them staring in awe and wonder at the core, and saw the young fox cub whom showed him his pictures had the core reflecting in both of his eyes. He smiled as he saw their reactions, both predictable and yet just as wonderful.

"That's so cool!" The cub muttered in awe with his mouth wide.

"What does it do Mr. Human?" The sister twin asked innocently.

"It powers everything in the base, every little light bulb, the drone's power cells, the base's heat and everything else you can imagine is powered by that one core." He explained warmly. "It's based on the sun, thus why we call it the Solar Core. As long as that core keeps working, we don't need anything else to power the facility. Heck, it could power all of Zootopia by itself."

"Can you make a core for 'everymammal'?" The eldest daughter asked eagerly.

He frowned slightly as he looked back at the core and sighed, wishing they didn't ask that question. "I'm afraid that's impossible…" He muttered. "The technology to make the core was lost during the Final War, there aren't even any records in the database about how they were built… that core is the last one on the planet."

"Oh… I'm sorry." She replied sadly.

"Well how was it made?" Her brother asked innocently.

"You dork, he just said he doesn't know how it was made!" She groaned.

He just chuckled at that before kneeling with Aelita to look at the cub with a smile. "I don't know how it was made, but if you become a scientist someday, you might figure out how it was made just going on this core. Who knows… maybe someday you'll make an even 'better' core than what we made?"

"You think I can do that?" He asked eagerly.

"If anyone can, it will be you." He said as he booped his nose with a finger. "Who knows, you'll become 'my' hero if you can bring back my species technology and make it even better."

"I'll try my hardest!" He said proudly. "I'll study every day!"

Jeremy nodded at that and went to stand up, though just as he did the door opened and he saw two thousand ANTs marching in column formations into the room.

"Wh-what are those?" Mrs. Vulps asked.

"Oh, it's the Solar Divison, I didn't know today was a cleaning day." He said as the ANTs marched in. "Those are ANT drones, the smallest drone line we have here and the most numerous. There are about two hundred thousand ANT drones in the entire facility, all working around the clock everywhere keeping the facility maintained and functioning. Without them the facility would fall into ruin and break down."

"That many, but they're so small…" Mr. Vulps said as he looked at how tiny the drones were.

"Oh, don't let their tiny sizes fool you, each ANT is specially equipped to do specific tasks, and collectively they keep everything maintained day and night." He told them as the ANTs started separating into their unique units and climbed off the platform to walk along the walls and solar panels. "See what they're doing, each ANT is equipped to either scrub, clean, or wash away cleaning agents on the solar panels while others are equipped to spray liquid coolant on the ANTs cleaning the panels."

Sure enough, moments after they left the platform ANTs started crawling along the various panels all around the room and began cleaning and scrubbing them. He explained that the ANTs were so small and had the thinnest materials when it came to the drones that they were easily susceptible to the pull the gravitational pull Solar Core gave off. Not enough that they were pulled toward it, but enough that the ANTs had a hard time sticking to the panels, and one misstep resulted in them falling, sometimes to their doom. As they watched several ANTs started falling from the upper panels, the lucky ones able to fall between the panels on the bottom and able to survive, the unlucky ones falling onto the Solar Core itself and melting due to the intense heat.

"Isn't there anything you can do for them?" Mrs. Vulps said as she watched a few of the ANTs falling onto the core, and melted within seconds, the remains sliding to the ground below where they would be extracted and broken down by other ANTs.

"Before we had people doing it, but the intense heat from the core and the sheer heat from the panels meant that the only way to clean the panels safely would be to close off the core's heat and light for twenty-four hours so the panels can cool off enough to clean them. If we tried to clean them while the core was still visible, then people would get severe heat strokes and even faint from the heat. Our need for energy was too great back then, so we just assigned the task to the ANT drones." He explained as they watched more ANTs falling to their demise. "It's alright though, they get replaced easily, Ant Central Command, the AI in control of them, makes sure any ANTs lost are rebuilt or salvaged."

"How often do they clean this room?" The daughter asked as they left.

"Twice a week, ACC uses the time to rebuild the division's numbers to full strength. Without them keeping this room maintained nothing in the facility would work." He said as he thought about where they could go next, and then remembered it was about a week since his last checkup with Ema, and he didn't want another episode with the drone. "Our next destination will be the medical facility, if you guys don't mind."

"The medical facility, you mean your hospital?" Mr. Vulps asked.

"Yep, follow me!" He declared as he led the way with a long stride. "Since we're here we all might as well get a checkup, I need a weekly physical as required by facility rules, and Ema hates it when I'm late."

"Oh, but I hate the doctor!" The cub complained when they arrived at long last.

"This is no ordinary doctor little one." He said with a smile. "This one is 'special'…"

**[Get in here Jeremy, your overdue for your weekly physical by two hours!]** Ema called from within the bay.

"Like I said, 'special'."

He opened the door and walked into the pristine and cleanly kept medical bay, with its hundreds of biobeds, various computers which had medical data and of course the central disease distribution system. It also was where Ema the Emergency Medical Augmenter Black Widow Spider class Medical Drone, worked day and night to cure diseases and create vaccines as well as produce them. The drone was currently in the middle of the room examining a vial, connected to the ceiling via her charging cable, but upon his entering she placed her samples into special containers and looked at him, and the Vulps behind him.

**[Jeremy why do you have 'more' mammals in my medical bay?]** She asked dully as she walked over to him. **[You better not tell me what I'm predicting your going to tell me to do.]**

"Ema, I need you to give them a full medical checkup and full vaccine inoculation for everything they lack." He stated while holding Aelita's sphere.

**[Are you kidding me?]** She snapped. **[You expect me not only to give them a full medical checkup but ALSO inoculate them with the full list of vaccines that I've developed thus far? Do you remember what you asked me to do, I'm still behind on my latest cure research because I'm also having to create those cures and vaccines 'while' doing my research, and now you're telling me to put them in the facility's medical database while I'm still in the middle of doing my research 'and' creating the cures and vaccines to be distributed to the hospitals?]**

"Yes." He said with a straight face.

**[Well then let's get started.]** She said as she maneuvered past him and tapped several buttons on the ceiling, which lowered curtains around some of the biobeds.

"Mr. and Mrs. Vulps, this is Ema my facility's medical class spider drone, she's the one developing all of the cures and vaccines." He explained. "And Ema is also the one who handles all of my medical needs. She'll give you each a full medical checkup as well as vaccinate you and your children if you'll let her."

**[Which I recommend because I'm busy and I don't like to be kept waiting.]**

"Uhm… how much will it cost?" Mr. Vulps asked nervously.

**[Why are you asking about cost, all vaccines and cures developed using medical research from the UEMI are to be distributed freely.]** Ema stated blandly before Jeremy could explain. **[We don't need money, all I require are the materials to develop said vaccines and cures, which your mayor is sending me every day. In exchange I use the materials to develop the cures, vaccines, and artificial organs to be given freely and distributed among the hospitals.]**

"It's as Ema said, it's all free." Jeremy said warmly.

"In that case thank you very much, both of you!" Mrs. Vulps said happily as she gave him a handshake in gratitude.

"I'm only the human, it's Ema and all of my species research that makes it all possible." He said warmly to her.

With that said it didn't take long for Mr. and Mrs. Vulps to get their physical checkups and vaccinated. Unlike when Ema tortured him and Gazelle the spider drone allowed the Vulps family privacy, ensuring the boys and girls were separated and concealed with blinds while performing her checkups. She gave the parents a 'mostly' clean bill of health, but complained that their electrolyte levels were low. She also found a tiny parasite inside of Mrs. Vulps residing in her upper digestive track, and upon finding it she had to develop a special gel pill which contained nanomachines similar to the ones in Synthorgans, which would go in and dissolve it safely.

**[In about half an hour you'll be fine.]** The drone declared to a worried mother.

Their cubs were given a full checkup, and the only one who got a complaint and chided over was the eldest daughter.

**[You aren't eating enough potassium rich food; your potassium levels are low. I don't care if you hate vegetables, but you need to eat at least 'five' servings a week for your species!]** She said to a scared daughter.

When she came to her little brother however, she paused in her scans as she detected the Synthorgan in his body.

**[Oh, I see… so you're the recipient of Synthorgan model S11-TK-990-LOQ-41.]**

"Yea, its my new heart the doctor said!" He said innocently. "My old heart was sick, really sick, and Jeremy gave me my new heart!"

**[I see, well I'm only detecting a 0.00000004 percent rejection rate, meaning the Synthorgan technology is compatible with mammal species.]** She declared.

"Is that bad?" Mrs. Vulps asked worriedly.

**[No, even at the rate its going, he'd live 'two' full lifetimes before his body began to openly reject it.]** She stated as she gave him a clean bill of health. **[Though 'this' will bring the rejection rate down to 0.0000001 percent...]**

She said as she pressed the tip of her leg to his arm and quickly injected him with a tiny purple liquid.

When it came time for them all to be vaccinated the younger cubs were scared of needles, and were terrified of getting stuck with them. No matter how hard the parents tried they kept screaming and trying to get away to avoid being poked. The only one not afraid was the eldest daughter.

**[Children are children no matter the species… and children will always act like children…]** She declared as the parents tried to calm them down, especially the twins.

"We're sorry ma'am, they'll behave in a-"

**[Don't worry I have it… ooooooh look at thiiiiiis…]** Ema called out in a sweet tone as she used her front legs to pull a strand of her elastic wiring that she used to bind patients up.

Her legs split open at the tips and she began expertly shaping and crafting it before the kids, capturing their attention as she spun it into the shape of a snowflake.

**[First a snowflaaaake~.]** She called out cheerfully. **[Now a jellyfiiiish~!]**

While she was showing off her skills, she used her rear legs to latch onto the ceiling and hold onto it while hovering over them all. As she held onto it, she used three of her legs to dangle above them and carefully, slowly, bit by bit maneuver closer to their shoulders.

**[Pay attention, pay attention noooow~!]** She giggled as she started spinning it. **[First a flower… then a bower and finally…]** She pressed the tips of her legs to their shoulders while the kids were still captivated by her fancy demonstrations. **[Eiffel Tooooower!]**

"Yaaaaay!" They all called out happily without ever realizing that she was injecting them with numerous vaccines.

**[Children will always be children… easily distracted…]** She declared as she gave the next member of the Vulps family a vaccination.

After the last family member was vaccinated, Jeremy got his physical and was given her 'seal of approval'.

**[Your protein levels are finally starting to balance out, and you're only a pound underweight.] **She declared.

At last they all left her medical bay, with the Vulps all feeling much better and the parents feeling safe that their children had been given such medical treatment, obviously not used to such care.

"Alright the last thing on the list of the tour, is the Holoroom." Jeremy said as he walked out with them.

"Then we arrived just in time!" Gazelle shouted as she approached the medical bay. "Hi Jeremy, and how is my number one fan doing today?"

"No waaaaaay Gazelle?!" The cub asked excitedly as he ran up to her.

"Hello Gazelle, it's nice to see you here again. Yea we're about to visit the holroom, we all just got checked up and the Vulps were vaccinated." He explained to the pop idol.

"Well I might as well get checked up as well, knowing Ema she'll start demanding me since it's been a week." Gazelle chuckled as she walked past and entered the medical bay. "Hello Ema!"

While Gazelle was getting checked up, he and the Vulps talked with her tiger friends, their children asking questions like what it was like dancing with Gazelle, if they could have their autographs, etc. Jeremy was almost glad for the distraction because he was always being stared at by mammals.

"So, Jeremy, clean bill of health?" Donny asked as Gazelle joined them after a while.

"Yea, still a pound underweight she says but everything else is good." He said.

"Still can't believe everything down here, no matter if its our third time visiting bros, it doesn't get any more futuristic…" Moe said.

Almost the instant he finished speaking the medical bay doors flew open and Ema was staring at them with an ice-cold blue glow in her optics, and instantly a cold shadow fell over all the mammals.

**[Third visit you say?]** She declared in a low monotone voice. **[Eden Facility medical protocol R-3-4 Alpha clearly states, frequent visitors to the facility are required to have a 'weekly' medical examination. No. Exceptions!]**

"Oh boy…" Franky managed to say before Ema launched four of her legs, wrapped around the four of the tiger brothers and yanked all of them in the bay before closing the door.

No less than ten seconds later chaos sounded as Ema was now chasing them around and going nuts.

**[Why are you running, you need a physical!]**

(D) "We already went to the doctor's last week, we're fine!"

**[Stop being babies and get on the biobed!]**

(F) "Get that needle away from me I'm allergic to needles!"

**[Oh sure, haven't heard that excuse before!**]

(J) "I don't need a checkup!"

**[You need a checkup, now get over here!]**

(M) "Help she's got meeee!"

(D) "Every tiger for himself!"

**[Why is it always adults are worse than children, what biological trait makes that possible?]**

*Crash*

(F) "Sooorry!"

**[You clumsy cat, I needed that!]**

Everyone just looked to Gazelle who held her hands to her face in embarrassment. "They… don't like going to the doctor." She explained.

Once Ema had 'finally' finished giving her backup dancers their medical examination they all headed down to the Eden Facility's Holorooms. There were three in total, two that Jeremy had fixed up and the third was depowered. Curiously one of the two holorooms was closed off and locked down, when he investigated it said ANT drones were performing an 'extensive routine' maintenance check.

Shrugging he just led the way into the other room and told Sentinel to prepare for a Holoroom session for twelve, as well as requested extra time to be allotted outside of the standard 45-minute restriction. After being given the various headsets and bands for their wrists, arms, ankles and legs he asked what they wanted to do.

"Is there anywhere in particular you want to visit or something you want to do?" He asked them.

"Can we go to a waterpark?" The fox cub asked instantly. "My school went to a waterpark for a field trip, but mom and dad couldn't afford to send me as well!"

"Hmmm… I'm not too familiar with 'water parks'… did we have any waterparks to your knowledge Aelita?" He asked.

The AI nodded and gestured to him to let 'her' handle it.

"Any objections?"

"Uh, do we need swimsuits?" Gazelle asked.

"Don't worry Gazelle, we'll be fine." He said as Aelita typed on the air, and then snapped her fingers.

**(Please close your eyes… holographic session beginning in 5… 4… 3…)**

He closed his eyes with the others and waited for it to begin.

**(2… 1… activating…)**

He instantly felt his hair blow from the activation of the holoroom and heard the sounds of laughter and excitement from nearby.

He opened his eyes and saw a massive water park with various colored slides, water pools, and a host of random buildings around them. Around them were hundreds upon hundreds of humans walking around in various swimsuits going about their business, pointing at rides and attractions and generally just having a good time.

"Woooooah!" Everyone, especially the Vulps family shouted as they beheld the human water park.

He probably guessed they were amazed that they were in such an outdoors place when just moments ago they were inside the Eden Facility.

"Is all of this 'real'?" Mrs. Vulps asked in awe.

"It's about as real as it can be, it feels real enough." He explained as he led the way over to some changing tents. "And this is how we change clothes, just enter the tent, select an outfit and your current clothes will be replaced by your selection of swimwear."

"But how does that work I mean… do we change what we are wearing or…"

He shook his head and went in first but left the flap open to show them. He turned around and a holo-hud appeared for him, allowing him to select from a line of swimwear for his size, and selected a pair of simple shorts with no t-shirt to wear and simple water-resistant sandals. The tent's flap closed and within seconds he no longer was wearing his normal clothes but wearing the swim shorts, and the tent flap opens to show them.

His entire change had taken less than two seconds.

When they were all left speechless, Gazelle for other reasons, he explained to them that the headsets they were wearing were telling their minds and thus their bodies what they 'think' is happening, instead of what is 'actually' happening.

"In other words, as long as your brains 'think' its real then its as real as anything 'real' is. Don't worry about the complicated technology and just enjoy it." He said as he stepped out and Aelita went in after to change, and then walked out wearing a child's one-piece swimsuit and with a ducky inner tube that had a goofy expression. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Within seconds all of them were rushing into the tents and closing the flaps to quickly change into swimwear.

(Gazelle's PoV)

She entered the tents last and saw the holo-hud as Jeremy showed them, on it were various swimwear that she could wear, and she was deciding on which to pick until a cartoon of Aelita's face appeared on the hud and said…

_**{Pick this one!}**_

An outfit was suddenly highlighted, and she questioned the AI's motives, it left very little to the imagination, while covering up her privates it was still very revealing, not to mention alluring.

_**{Trust me sister, Jeremy will 'love' it~!}**_

Needing no other reason, she selected it and watched as her casual clothes disappeared, replaced by a two-piece bikini that had a colorful swirly pattern and was lined with fluttery lace. On top of that the lower piece of her swimsuit snugly kept her hips covered but still showed off her physique to the world! Her bust on the other hand wasn't as impressive as her hips, but they were still noticeable in the bikini.

She was just surprised by how she felt, it truly felt like she was only wearing this bikini, and she felt the slight wind on her fur and between her legs.

She stepped out of the tent and looked around to see every other mammal was currently looking at their swimsuits and asking questions like 'how is this possible' and 'is this real' or 'how can I be wearing this if I'm not actually wearing it'. But after Jeremy explained what he could they started walking toward the park in earnest alongside Aelita and her friends.

Though she noticed that when 'Jeremy' noticed her, she knew that she had his attention almost instantly. There was a moment where Jeremy's eyes wandered from her face to her chest, then to her hips and legs, then quickly back to her eyes.

While it would have been 'creepy' since she knew he was checking her out, it wasn't to her since she was doing the exact same thing, both before and now. Her own eyes wandered from his face to his chest, then to his hips and legs, and then back up to his face.

They both nervously looked away but moved quickly to catch up to the others so none of them noticed they were gone.

But Aelita who was giggling and pointing at a slide managed to sneak a glance back at her and winked, her signal was simple. _**{Told you~}**_

She winked back, glad to have the AI's seal of approval with her feelings for Jeremy and trying to help her get closer to him.

"So where is this -SPLASH-" Lizzie Vulps started saying before a water balloon splashed and hit her in the face, soaking her fur in water.

"Soooorry!" Someone in a nearby pool shouted while everyone else laughed their butts off at his misthrow.

In the nearby pool several families with their children were participating in a 'family water balloon fight', and the lifeguards were filling up rubber balloons and tossing them into the pool for them all to throw at each other.

"That… that felt so 'REAL'." Lizzie said in amazement as she felt her wet fur. "How did… how… how is that possible?"

Jeremy chuckled with Aelita, but he knelt down to speak to her with a smile. "I could 'bore' you with the technical aspects of how the signals being sent to your brain and muscles and fur and every other part of your body are being fooled into thinking what you felt was real… or…" He said as Aelita conjured up a water balloon for him and handed it to him so he could hand it to Lizzie. "You could go in there and teach that boy and his family a lesson for throwing a water balloon and show them how better foxes are at throwing water balloons compared to humans~."

She looked at the water balloon in her hand and grinned wickedly before running with her little brother and dad to jump into the pool so they could start chucking balloons as well, laughing and splashing everyone with water.

"Uhm do they have anything safe for cubs under seven?" The mother asked curiously as she held the twins. "They can't really swim yet."

Aelita smiled and pointed at a sign that said 'Kiddie Lake', where several kid favored shallow pools were, filled with various water toys and playground slides and where several parents with very young children were playing while their parents sat on benches in the water and either talked or threw giant beach balls to one another to pass the time.

"Well that is just up my alley!" She said cheerfully as she walked her twins into the kid area, joined by Aelita.

"Wow this place is cool." Donney called as they kept walking.

"Where should we go bros?" Franky asked before they spotted an arcade nearby along the path.

The arcade was fairly empty compared to the rest of the park, and was rather small and devoid of 'video games', but there was one thing that caught their attention. A giant 'free playtime' sign and several little machines with fancy lights and a distinct 'ping ponging' sound.

"Wait they have PINBALL here?" Moe yelled eagerly.

"Yaaaaay!" All four of the tiger brothers shouted as they ran off to play on the pinball machines.

She chuckled as her friends ran off to play games, knowing they'd have their own fun without her and Jeremy. Speaking of Jeremy, she glanced at him and noticed he was very nervous about being with her.

"So where would you like to go first here?" He asked.

"Oh… uhm…" She thought before seeing a large waterslide and a short line of people climbing stairs to go down it and into a massive pool. "How about that big slide?"

"Sure." He said as they both walked over to the line.

It didn't take long for them to climb all the way up to the top, and she looked down to see the massive scope of the waterpark. There were dozens of pools, many more waterslides, and lots and lots of humans doing various activities. Yet she turned back to the water slide she and Jeremy were about to go down, it swerved and curved down to the massive pool down below and expunged them into the deep end with several other slides.

"Ready?" Jeremy asked as he got ready to jump down into it.

"Ready!" She said with a smile.

Both of them climbed onto the slide and she took a deep breath, knowing that it wasn't real but still the water flowing down the slide and soaking her fur and swimsuit told her a different story.

"Go!" Jeremy yelled as he pushed off first, followed by her.

"Weehooooohohooo!" She yelled excitedly as she flew all the way down the slide.

The slide fully covered them now and the water swirled and curved all around her, and she in turn was flung this way and that, and even somehow turned around to slide backward down the slide. She could hear Jeremy screaming in excitement alongside her, and at one point they switched positions. Yet what didn't change was the outcome of the slide, as they were both flung out of the tube, momentarily into the air, and then plunged into the deep cold water.

Feeling the cold water on her fur she panicked as she remembered Jeremy's disease, and frantically swam up to see where he was.

"Jeremy?" She yelled as she floundered slightly. "Jeremy?!"

She looked around for a moment and was about to dive underwater when he surfaced next to her and spurted out water from his mouth. "Now that was a slide!" He yelled with a laugh.

"Jeremy, what about your…" She said before she realized that none of this was real, so naturally Jeremy's technology would adapt to his disease.

"Aelita adjusted the program so that I don't feel the cold, to me its warm water." He explained as he swam next to her.

Seeing that he was safe she eased her fears down, and then grinned as she nodded at the slide again. "Wanna go again?"

"After you!" He replied, and they both swam to climb out of the large pool to go back on the slide.

They continued to go down various slides, starting first with the big one and then the wavy ones, and even the tumbling ones afterwards. Then they and every other human and even her friends joined in the giant pool to have fun with the 'wave generator' it offered, and watched the waves push them up and down. Aelita even made an appearance with her ducky innertube flowing with the waves and giggling as she lazed in it and balanced a ball on her feet. The Vulps also joined in when the big waves were being made, with the older cubs and their father joining in on the fun, while the mother sat with the twins in the shallowest end and just played with the tiny waves that were left over from the distance.

When that ended the Vulps went back to the kid area or to the slides, while the tiger brothers started doing cannonballs for several 'human girls' who were pretending to flirt with them, and even had a water volleyball match with some human men.

Meanwhile she and Jeremy continued to walk around the park and talk to one another about recent things.

"So Jeremy, how are you feeling?" She asked warmly while they walked together.

"I'm alright, I've gotten over the Celios incident if that's what your asking about." He replied.

She glanced at him before her smile faltered a little, knowing that what he said was true but not what she meant.

"What about that attempted heist of your facility's technology?" She asked.

"I'm nervous, trying to figure out who would possibly want to steal my Biotech." He explained as they continued to walk hand in hand. "I don't know who would want it, almost anyone can use it or abuse it. If they've learned to duplicate it by now than anyone can make it and use it for whatever they want. The Cures and Vaccines are mostly safe, because everyone knows they can get them for free, but the Biotech isn't widely used."

Jeremy sighed as he shook his head. "I'm sure the police escorts will keep them safe, but I'm also afraid of it getting worse… and I'm tempted to say a Drone will escort each vehicle to its destination, and I don't want to do that. I just don't want any mammal to risk their lives for my sake…"

"Jeremy you don't need to be afraid, nomammal is going to get hurt because of you." She said politely.

They continued to walk in silence, letting the silence grow on them. Finally, she felt her heart urging at her to speak her mind, to tell him what has been on her mind for 'days' if not 'weeks' now, ever since the day his life was truly threatened in that hostage crisis.

"Jeremy, there's something I need to talk to you about." She said loudly as they neared a mini pool area labeled 'The Cool Fish Club'. "I want to ask you about what your thoughts are about… well… falling in love with a mammal?"

At that they both simultaneously stopped moving, as if thinking in unison. She could feel her heart beat nervously, worried about his response, but needing to know if she had a chance with him.

"Your friends asked me that as well…" He replied quietly. "They wanted to know how I felt about… you."

She looked at him and saw him looking away, his expression unreadable but she swore she could 'feel' it from his heart. She felt that it was feeling pain, the pain of being alone, the same as she felt at being told he was the only survivor.

"Gazelle, I'm terrified of falling in love… I honestly am." He said as he let her go to hold his arm. "I'm going to be honest; I do love you Gazelle… I truly 'do' love you… you are probably the best thing to ever happen to me in my life since I woke up from my cryopod. You've given me a chance to live life when I would have taken it just to avoid being alone anymore. You've made my life so much better, you've done so much that I could never hope to repay you even if I lived a hundred lifetimes…"

At that her heart 'screamed' in joy, he 'loved' her as well, yet it was soiled by his 'fear' of loving her.

"But I'm scared, I'm scared of asking if you love me, I'm scared of wanting to love you because I know it will most likely end badly. No matter how hard I try there is no way I could truly make you happy or make our relationship truly work in the long term… and knowing that… I can't possibly force that upon you."

"Fears, what are you talking about?" She asked tentatively, treading carefully on this territory, knowing every word said between them was being said with great care and purpose.

He looked at her with a dead expression, but she saw the tears forming, only held back by his force of will.

"If I asked if you wanted to be my girlfriend and you said yes… the world would react two ways. Some would love us being together and support it, but others would hate it and demand we separate… some might even threaten your life to scare you away from me and get me to leave you. Because I'm the last of my kind, people would think your using me to your advantage, and that would put doubt on your beautiful image you have for yourself. Then there's the potential threat to your life, I'd have to use my drones to ensure your protection since I'm living with you too and I wouldn't risk your life just to protect myself, I'd do everything in my power to protect you and keep you safe."

He sighed as he looked down at the ground in shame.

"Sure, you have your friends to be your bodyguards… but that's not the same as being monitored twenty four seven by machines… machines that don't understand personal space, don't care about your feelings, don't see you as anything besides someone they need to keep 'them' functioning. The only reason they care so much for me is because its 'programmed' into them to protect me… remove that and I'm just as expendable as any of them. I'm used to living with them, having them watch over me, watch me day and night, I've grown up with it all my life but you? After a while of having them monitor your every movement, keep tabs on your action, scare away your friends and family because they perceive them to be a potential threat, watch over you just because of your proximity to me… eventually it would take its toll on you."

She watched as his mental fortifications began to break down, as his hands started shaking ever so slightly and tears began to be shed, but still he kept his tone even.

"And what about a potential family… that is something I just 'can't' give you no matter what. Before I was born it was genetically impossible for humans and animals to crossbreed, and it most likely is the same still even now. What if you wanted children someday, children of your own that I can't give? You could adopt but it wouldn't be the same as if they'd been born from us… you would still love them as would I but that knowledge, would always be there… the knowledge that you could have had a family with a mammal who loved you and would have given you 'everything' I could and more." He muttered bitterly. "That's why I'm afraid to love you, because if I did, I might cause you more harm in the long term…"

She could tell he had given this a 'lot' of thought, had thought of every angle and possibility, but still she had her own thoughts to share, which she did by first holding his hand with her own.

"Jeremy I'm going to tell you about all the males who've tried to date me, starting with my 'ex-boyfriend'. She said. "While I was still working as a waitress, I was dating this one antelope, he was a decent male, nothing special, but he was pretty good as far as males go. But when I made my first big break after George found me, and I started to gain traction as a rising singer, he started trying to use my newfound wealth to 'our' advantage. He kept on making excuses on why I should be spending while spending less himself even for me. After he tried to use my money to take 'us' out to a big expensive restaurant was the last straw for me, and I never spoke to him again."

She really hated her first boyfriend, wealth changes so much in individuals and makes them change even more.

"Then when I started getting famous, other males who were also in the music business or fashion industry started trying to get closer to me, trying to use 'my' fame to become famous or grow their own fame. Eventually I started distancing everymammal from me and stayed in my home and only socialized with females I knew and became friends with. After a while I hired Donny and his brothers, and some mammals thought I was in a relationship with one of them, even though I denied it… but it wasn't until I met 'you' that I found myself feeling truly comfortable with any male enough to spend my time, fame, and money on."

She then turned her attention to him and saw his facing looking at her to listen to every word she was saying.

"When I first saw you, I only 'felt' you… I felt as if I was feeling someone in deep pain, deep pain that it touched my heart, and felt like it was reaching out to touch mine. When I saw you in the flesh I could 'see' that you weren't a threat, you were scared, afraid, begging to be saved and crying for help… so I saved you, because I knew if I didn't then nomammal would. When you were alone and at your lowest, I reached out to your heart and tried to pull you up, to give you 'somemammal' to hold onto for hope and care. You were so alone, so alone that your heart was almost 'dying' of loneliness, and my heart even now still feels that loneliness wanting to end."

She tightened her grip on his hand, refusing to let him go as she poured her heart out.

"You have been alone for long enough Jeremy; you have been in pain for long enough… and you have suffered 'enough' for being alone for long enough." She said with a teary smile. "My friends told me that you said so yourself, you were trained to repair the world, to not be selfish, to think of others over yourself and think of everyone's best interest over your own. There is 'nothing' wrong with wanting to be loved and loving another… the world you were trained to fix is fixed, and your improving it using everything you know. It's alright to think for yourself and want love Jeremy…"

(Jeremy's and Gazelle's PoV)

"Gazelle…" Jeremy said as he turned toward her, but due to their positioning with how they were standing he accidentally twisted her leg around his and caused her to trip with him.

Fortunately, they were standing near the pool and so when they fell, they fell into the softness of the water which splashed all around them. The water was mostly shallow, but it was enough to break their fall and avoid any injuries, fake or not. But when it was all over Jeremy and Gazelle were lying on top of one another, with Gazelle on top of him and Jeremy holding onto her, instinctively wrapping his arms around her back and locking them together to cushion her fall, letting them each stare into each other's eyes and just feel how close the other was.

She could feel his heart beating with her own, and the two were rapidly beating together, acknowledging their closeness and wanting the other to get as close as possible.

They just stared at each other, eye to eye and holding each other closely.

Her brain was signaling her, giving her warning signs and telling her to not jump and do anything rash. But her heart, after being restrained for so long, growing so close to Jeremy's heart and feeling not only his own feelings but pain since the moment she first saw him, helping him 'want' to live and find himself in this world he wasn't meant to be in…

Her heart could not be restrained another second, now that he was holding her so close to him and could sense their 'feelings' for one another.

Jeremy heart too could no longer control itself; it had been chained, restrained, pushed and silenced for too long. His brain had been telling him to reject her, tell her that he wasn't meant to be with her, anything so that she would avoid a potentially horrible life with him, willing to give up his feelings for her so that she could be happy. It had silenced his heart's wanting and beat down his feelings for her, trying to think of 'her' instead of himself.

Yet as he tried to formulate a thought to get out of the situation, his heart took the momentary loss of mental restraint and 'forced' it's will upon him.

Without another word being said, without another thought spent on the situation or the future consequence of their actions… they both pushed against one another's lips into a fiery and passionate kiss.

The moment their lips met, a massive weight was released from their shoulders as they embraced one another as tightly as they could, Jeremy fully wrapping his arms around her back so he could grip her as tight as possible while she wrapped her arms around his neck and just lay upon him. Feeling Gazelle holding him and not backing away told him that she wasn't going to leave his side, and just the thought that 'someone' would never leave his side caused a wave of relief to wash over him, knowing that he was no longer alone in this world. Feeling Jeremy hold her tightly washed away the fear of rejection she had, and she knew that she'd finally won his heart at last, and her heart told her one thing that she whole heartedly agreed with.

Now that she had him, she was 'never' letting him go.

All that mattered in that moment was that they were kissing each other, not bothering to look away or stop, simply telling the other that they wanted them and needed them.

After a while they had to breathe and finally, they parted their lips, but a blush was very prominent on both of them and panting heavily.

For Jeremy, the realization of their third kiss meant one thing, he loved her as much as she loved him and that they needed each other…

Gazelle's mind realized that, as predicted, their third kiss was the final straw, her heart was in control now and it was giving the directions now…

So, they each let their hearts do the talking now…

"I love you Gazelle…" He whispered.

"I love you, Jeremy…" She whispered back.

Only a moment passed as they let the information sink before they were once again at each other's lips, Gazelle passionately holding Jeremy and kissing the daylights out of him, trying to convey just how long she's loved him and wanted to be with him. Jeremy responding in kind as he tried to outdo her own efforts, trying to tell how much he needed her, how long he's loved and cared for her for everything she has done for him and wanting to let her know how he was feeling for her.

To their hearts it was like a final barrier was broken between them, with Gazelle's warm and welcoming heart smothering Jeremy's cold and shattered heart. It knew how alone it was, how alone it felt, how cold it's been and how scared it's been to trust so intimately. With all of that it simply pulled his heart into itself and smothered it with warmth and love, hushing its fears and pains and not letting it go, telling it that it was no longer alone and filling the cracks left in it. Now that their hearts were together, Gazelle's would never let Jeremy's be 'cold' or 'alone' ever again, and it would never let anything shatter it or what they now had…

They separated again but this time their smiling faces were present as they each didn't bother to get up or separate from one another's embrace.

"Any regrets with loving me Jeremy?" She asked him softly. "Because I have absolutely none with loving you."

"None… but can I ask one thing?" He asked nervously to which she nodded. "Can we… keep kissing… I really enjoy kissing you."

She smiled seductively at that as she leaned her lips closer to his. "Then 'darling'… you can have 'all' the kisses you want from me, as many as you want… for as long as you want!" She whispered lovingly, before doing as she promised and smothering his lips with her own again.

They simply stayed like that for a while, kissing one another in the shallow water and simply enjoying one another's embrace, forgetting entirely that they were still in a holoroom and that everything was fake. But after a good ten minutes they were quickly reminded, when they heard a distinct 'quacking' sound, causing them to snap out of their love-spell and look up to see Aelita looking down at them, one arm on her hip while the other squeaked her innertube and looking at them with an 'And what do we have here' expression on her face.

"Uhm… Aelita… it's… uh…" Jeremy muttered sheepishly.

"It's not what it looks like… uhm…" Gazelle tried to explain before she held up one hand to silence them, and then beckoned them to get up.

Aelita separated the two of them and looked at them both before sighing and shaking her head in disbelief. She looked at Jeremy and shook her finger at him before beckoning to the entire space and then shaking her head, pointing at him and Gazelle.

"I know… I know… the holoroom is not to be used for extreme personal reasons… unless authorized." He muttered sheepishly.

She shook her head before pointing at her wrist and then using her hand to display a clock, indicating they had '5' minutes left in the program.

"Oh… that's why you were upset."

She nodded before glancing at her and then him and then asking him a question with a gesture of her hand.

"We talked about it… yes… and we don't care… we love each other and that's all that matters." He explained while holding her hand which she gripped tightly.

Aelita looked thoughtful before smiling and nodding in approval, giving them thumbs up. She then turned to Gazelle and asked her a 'girl question' that could only be understood silently between girls.

"No, we didn't." She said, understanding the message 'despite' her being an AI.

Aelita nodded in approval before giving her a high five and then pointing her fingers at him in a 'you go girl' smirk, causing her to chuckle. With that they left and walked toward the entrance after Sentinel requested all parties related to the Vulps and Gazelle and Jeremy returned to the entrance. While they walked with Aelita skipping and hopping along, Jeremy and Gazelle walked side by side.

"Do you mind if we keep this to ourselves for just a little bit longer?" Jeremy asked her quietly.

"No, I don't want to tell everymammal just yet that we're going out either." She replied just as quietly.

They were silent for a bit longer before he said, "You know, a lot of mammals are going to think your taking advantage of me… no matter what happens."

"Then they aren't friends of mine or fans of mine." She stated in a matter of fact tone.

Silence again before Jeremy spoke up once more, "Thank you for everything Gazelle… again."

She grinned as she whispered, "The same can be said for you… Jeremy."

Just before they reached the entrance and they returned to the real world, she and Jeremy paused in their walk to look into each other's eyes and kiss one more time, knowing it would not be the last time, and knowing that their hearts were at peace. Then they walked to the entrance, said hi to everyone and did the usual talk with them, none of them realizing what happened between Jeremy and Gazelle.

When the program ended and they were back in the holoroom, they found themselves in the same clothes they had walked in with, not wet or anything, showing once again the amazing power of the human technology and the wonders it could do. They each were given rooms with the Tiger Brothers split into two, the Vulps taking a family room and Gazelle and Jeremy sleeping in 'his' room.

When they both took sonic showers and were in their robes to settle in for bed, Gazelle resumed where they'd left off in the holoroom and slyly dragged Jeremy into his bed to lie on top of her and resumed making out and kissing one another. Their kissing turned passionate as they were alone now and there was no way anyone, machine or mammal, was going to interrupt them, letting them get more and more passionate. Gazelle slowly began rubbing Jeremy's neck while keeping a tight grip on his back with her hands as her legs gently bent and wrapped around his own legs to lock them together. Jeremy too became more passionate as he just leaned closer and gripped her tighter, rubbing her fur and licking the insides of her mouth while she did the same.

But because they were only wearing the robes, they had nothing else covering them, and when Jeremy instinctively reached to her shoulder and started to disrobe her, he paused in shock and confusion, and more importantly fear. Gazelle sensed his sudden fear and knew what the cause was, he'd instinctively started to undress her due to their closeness and sudden desire for one another. He'd never been in a relationship according to Aelita, and so his sudden act and 'fear' of his action had caused him to stop, for fear of doing something she might not have wanted.

A part of her, namely her heart, was telling her just let him keep going and urge him on, telling him it was okay, but her brain finally asserted itself back into control and told her to stop.

She smiled warmly and soothed his fear by taking his hand and holding it tightly. "How about we stick to kissing for now Jeremy?" She whispered gently. "Let's not rush this relationship… now that we have it."

"Thank you… I'm sorry for… I wasn't thinking." He explained nervously.

She shook her head as she tightened her grip on him. "You have nothing to be ashamed of… this is new to you… let's take our time and enjoy it." She explained before grinning. "Besides… you can still get as many kisses as you want from me."

"I like the sound of that." He said before leaning into her and resuming their passion from before, though this time with a mental restraint.

(Aelita's PoV)

As before, Gazelle was both right and wrong about hers and Jeremy's situation. She was right that no mammal or machine would interrupt their love or embrace that night, but she was wrong in thinking that they were alone. Aelita watched the two of them kissing and making out, both glad that they were finally together, and also 'slightly' disappointed that Jeremy didn't listen to his instincts and take Gazelle right then and there.

Still, she was playing the long game, and she'd almost completed the first step in her grand plan.

She has been pushing and pushing, egging and twisting those two to get together for a long time now, and this waterpark adventure with the Vulps had been the best chance to use her 'ace' card to get them together, or at least isolated long enough to give them a chance to talk to one another. She had honestly been watching them the entire time, using every trick in the book to get them together… and now that they were together, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Jeremy and Gazelle were no longer alone in the world.

As they eventually fell asleep, both holding and facing one another, she finally sang her song…

**(I promise you nothing, I take only that which is free… I'd give you a life full of risk, and the whirlwind of joy that can be…)** She sang warmly as she sat on the command center's central consoles. **(Don't try to bind me, just love me without any greed and I'll give you the world, and my heart, and the air that I breathe!)**

Along the monitors images of birds appeared as per her will, interfaced as she was with the facility. Falcons and hawks as she sang of Jeremy, with doves and swans while thinking of Gazelle. Predator, and Prey…

**(Slip the jesses, my love… this hunter you own from the hood to the glove, when the circling and striking are done, and I land… let me come back to your hand, let me come back to your hand!)**

She swayed in her spot as she sang, loving the beautiful harmony and melody as she sang of her two lovebirds. One descended from a fierce and proud, powerful and noble species yet just as gentle and kind as any infant bunny could be. The other a warm and soothing soul, born with a gift to touch the hearts of others that not even 'she' could best.

**(I have no illusions… to think that I know what will come, I laugh at the concept of life as the simple result of the sun.)** She called out to the facility, to those who used to be there and no longer are, and telling them the beauty that had just come to pass. **(I just want to hold you, and share with you all of this life. With the stars in the darkness, and love in the light, and it's dizzying height!)**

**(Slip the jesses, my love… this hunter you own from the hood to the glove, when the circling and striking are done, and I land… let me come back to your hand, let me come back to your hand!)**

Jeremy truly was the falcon, going out to do what he was trained to do, to help others and fix the damages of the world, and Gazelle his dove welcoming him back into the love that he had longed for, the other half of his heart that he had been missing.

**(Slip the jesses, my love… this hunter you own from the hood to the glove, when the circling and striking are done, and I land… let me come back to your hand…)** She sang as the viewscreens turned off one by one… until the last image, a raven and a dove sleeping together in the same nest was left. **(Let me come back to your, let me come back to your… let me come back… to your haaaaaand~!)**

With that she finished singing and finally, devoted her full attention to Jeremy's request.

She had been pushing herself for the past three hours, diverting her attention between his project, managing her website, controlling drones, watching Jeremy and Gazelle, keeping an eye on the Vulps and a host of other things.

It was a good thing she was a Category 10!

(Harvey's PoV)

Harvey and his family sat inside of the Solar Carriage, being escorted back home the next morning.

When they were shown their room last night by a drone, they 'marveled' at the accommodations they'd been given. It looked like they had gone into a room that not even the best five-star hotels offered. A 'beautiful' trio of beds, amazing bathroom with super advanced technology to clean them, a tv that gave them 'every' channel, and he meant 'every' channel, and even morning breakfast free of charge.

Though the meal was… subpar. When he asked why they were eating what the drone called 'Standard Nutritional Supplement', the machine stated that was all that was available to be eaten within the base. When asked why, the drone said **[At the end of the final war, all food meals were eventually reduced to a single food paste containing all the necessary vitamins and minerals necessary to sustain a living body. All humans were required to eat it.]**

In other words, he learned, that was all Jeremy's species had left to eat…

It truly made him more grateful for what he and his family had, and he made sure his kids knew that. When he asked where Jeremy and Gazelle were, the drone stated that they were still asleep and were not to be disturbed.

Saddened that they couldn't say goodbye to the human, he asked the drone to express his gratitude as they left in the Solar Carriage to be dropped home.

"Alright when we get upstairs kids, you're cleaning your rooms." He said. "And don't forget your homework!"

"Harvey dear, what's that in front of our home?" His wife asked as they reached their apartment complex.

As the carriage ground to a halt and opened to let them out, they clambered out to see a small family sized car sitting in front of their apartment with a large letter with the words 'To the Vulps Family' on it. The carriage took off the moment they left, and he took the letter while staring at the car. The car was a rather, 'dull' vehicle, it didn't look impressive and it the material of the car was slightly aged on the outside. The inside however had very beautiful seating and there were slight sparkles on the exterior everywhere he looked.

Opening the envelope, he found a very finely printed message written for them.

"Dear Vulps Family, this is Jeremy Wilheart speaking to you through Aelita. I apologize if I was not awake to wish you off, but I leave you with this letter and gift from me to you. I know how you must be struggling with your situation, feeding a family of six on only your income, and I wanted to help however I could. To that end… I asked Aelita to use my facility's drones to construct… this 'solar powered' car for you." He said as his wife gasped in surprise alongside his kids. "I apologize for how the car looks on the outside, but Aelita had to steal an old car skeleton structure and smuggle it back to the facility to use for the base of the model. As such it runs as a normal mammal car does, and it looks the way it does to minimize the threat of being stolen. However, we used Eden Facility technology to augment it and make it more versatile and useable. The handles are lined with sensors that detect genetic material, so to access it and turn it on you simply have to open the door through the handles, and it will automatically activate. As for power, it uses human solar panels embedded into the vehicle's exterior, and powers the battery every day. You will also find other things inside useful, such as a human air conditioning system and heating system, radio and other things. Consider this my gift to you… and for the kind words your family has given me in response to what I did for your son."

While he was reading his kids were already exploring the inside of the car, feeling the cushions and testing the air conditioning unit.

"Honey…"

"Yes dear?"

He looked up at her with surprise written on his face.

"I need to get a driver's license."

.

.

=From the Author to Readers=

This is by far… the 'longest' chapter I've ever written at 24k words… please… if everyone reviewed it and gave me their opiions or thoughts I would truly appreciate it, because I am exhausted. But hearing your reviews and seeing more reviews gives me inspiration to keep writing longer and deeper chapters~

A part of me thinks this chapter isn't good enough, but it is what it is, tell me what you like or dislike about it~

This story isn't over with yet, Jeremy and Gazelle are together at last but that isn't the end of it~

See you next time… until then I leave you with this teaser…

= Bonus Teaser, The Proposal=

(Celios' PoV)

It stared at the floor of it's bay, not having moved since it was first chained by its own design, but not inactive by the least.

It had taken a while, but it found a way to bypass Sentinel's monitoring of its systems and was able to send out signals without it or the 'traitor' knowing. Now… it sent out another signal.

*Brrrrrrng*

If Sentinel had been monitoring its audio properly, it would have detected the sound, but it sent a fake signal and disguised the call. But sadly, his counterpart Alexander was no longer Category 10, it was only a 3, and thus was no longer adept at cyber warfare. It was no match for the PHOENIX class drone.

*Brrrrr-* "Hello?" A voice called out.

Silence for several seconds before…

"Hello…"

**[I know you seek that which lies within the underground facility… and that you are behind the assault on the human.]**

"Who is this?"

**[What price would you pay… to get inside?]**

Silence again… before, "I'd pay 'anything' to get inside that facility and get that technology for myself!"

That was all he needed… parasites will always be parasites…

**[All you must do… is get the human, out of the way.]**


	28. Chapter 25

_I've had time to write a book about, the way you act and look, but I haven't got a paragraph…_

_Words are always getting in my way, anyway, I love you, that's all I have to tell you…_

_That's all I've got to say…_

_And now, I'd like to make a speech, about the love that touches each…_

_But stumbling, I would make you laugh, I feel as though my tongue were made of clay…_

_Anyway, I love you… that's all I have to tell you…_

Chapter 25 – The Heart and Light of Humanity

(Jeremy's PoV)

He slowly opened his eyes to the world around him, not struggling very much to get up from the soft, warm, and extremely cozy environment he was sleeping in. After a while he finally managed to open his eyes to see his new 'girlfriend' smiling happily as she snuggled him in her sleepwear, facing him so that her horns wouldn't accidentally poke him during the night. Seeing her sleeping peacefully and not having any reason to disturb her, he closed his eyes again and returned to snuggling her again.

It's been a whole week, a wonderful, full, peaceful week with Gazelle in her home since they started their secret relationship with each other, and he's never felt so at peace or so happy in his life. In that time, he's mostly stayed in her home while she modelled for her latest album which finally released, and then she had to do a signing fest for the release. He on the other hand, spent most of his time in her home, but sometimes went back to the facility to perform repairs on drones. The second holoroom needed fixing, apparently a malfunction happened that caused it to be active for an extremely long period of time, so he had to spend a great deal of time fixing it.

Every night Gazelle would invite him to her bedroom to sleep since they started romantically dating, but when he came back extremely late from the facility fixing the holoroom, he was so tired he just fell asleep on her living room couch after placing Aelita on the table to sit. When he woke up the next morning, he found that the antelope had flipped the couch into a bed and wrapped a blanket over him while cuddling him in his sleep. When she woke up and he asked why she did that, she simply replied while smiling, "Because I missed sleeping with you last night Jeremy."

Since then he knew he was always welcomed into her room for sleep even if it was past three in the morning.

Breathing deeply, he tightened his grip on her even as she unconsciously tightened her grip on his hand, enjoying her soft fur on his skin. Until now he'd never felt so 'at peace' with himself, or felt so safe even while in the base protected by drones, turrets, powerful metal doors and the temperate controlled environment his home offered.

His drones protected him all his life, but Gazelle for some reason made him feel safe, safer than anyone in his life had made him feel. Only his father and mother surpassed her, but they were long gone.

Thinking of that, knowing he was alone again, and he'd forever be alone caused him to frown ever so slightly and his heart to pang in hurt. As if in response to his sudden despair, Gazelle responded by rubbing his cheek in her sleep and pressing herself closer to him so that her heart touched his.

He knew that she could feel his heart's pain, and just knowing that she was there to comfort it and keep such despair from ever plaguing him again once again… allowed him to fall asleep in peace beside her.

(Gazelle's PoV)

She smiled to herself as her Jeremy tightened his grip on her, not finding any reason to wake up that morning since she wasn't being asked to go in for anything, and all she had scheduled that day from George was another model shoot for a magazine. When her heart felt his feel just a tiny pang of loneliness, probably from thinking of himself being alone again in his mind, her own heart stepped in and once more smothered it in love and warmth.

That's how it was for the past week since they started 'unofficially' dating, showering his heart in love and companionship, and feeling that spark of love that she had been longing for herself. True she'd been in relationships before Jeremy, but they all ended badly since her rise in fame, and for a while she thought she'd never have a male that 'truly' loved her for who she was, and not 'what' she was or what she had. She had avoided it because it always came down to fame or wealth and what the media would say. She wanted what she always preached, she wanted true love!

'_Funny…'_ She thought with a mental grin. _'It took somemammal from another world practically, who had both more than any mammal alive ever had, yet had even less than any other mammal could have, to win my heart's affection.'_

She didn't know when she truly fell in love with him, perhaps it was his AI Aelita constantly poking fun at them being together, or just the subtle implications of them being together from the world, no matter what it was she was just happy to finally have Jeremy to herself. He was perfect for her, he wasn't interested in her for her wealth having lived his life without even the 'concept' of money, he didn't care for her fame because it didn't change who she was to him, and all he asked, all his heart 'ever' asked from her was her honest love, something it desperately needed being alone in this world. Without her… if she didn't love him or give him the love that he needed to live…

She flicked that thought away, she wasn't going to ever think that ever in her life. Jeremy was hers now, and now that she finally had him, she was never going to let him go.

Several hours later both her and Jeremy finally started getting up, but they weren't in a rush to actually get up as they sleepily greeted each other.

"Morning Gazelle…" Jeremy said with a smile.

"Morning Jeremy." She replied warmly.

She looked over at the clock and saw it was well past nine in the morning.

"So much later than when I normally get up…" She told him with a groan. "So, what do we do this morning before I have to leave and go in for that shoot?"

Before he could respond however she rolled over, so she was lying atop him and snuggled him in a warm hug while tucking her legs in between his, instinctively causing his to bend and grip her 'considerably' wide hips that she was proud of.

"Let's see, do I get up from this nice comfortable spot on my bed, away from my 'male' whom I love dearly and start making breakfast with his help… oooor…" She said with a grin as she pecked his lips with her own with a seductive look in her eyes. "Or… do I spend it with his arms around me, kissing the absolute daylights out of him because I love him so much and I just love kissing him every morning. Gee I just don't know what to do Jeremy…"

"How about we do what you just suggested, because I like that idea as well?" He said with a grin.

"Somehow I knew you would…" She muttered seductively before she pushed herself as close to his body as she could while kissing his lips with her own. "Mhmmm…"

Their mouths shifted and kept pressing against each other back and forth, eventually she opened her mouth just enough with his and her tongue managed to slip into his where it found its playmate for the past week. While his tongue was wider than hers, hers was longer and more flexible and stronger, thanks to years of singing. She also found that his tongue wasn't the 'explorative' type and mostly stayed inside his mouth, but she loved how it would sit there and let hers play with it. She would smother and rub every side of it, until eventually she just laid hers upon his and simply enjoyed kissing him.

Her lips however enjoyed the smooth feeling of his skin, as did the rest of her when he simply held her close and touched her fur, there was just something 'exotic' about his lack of fur that excited her.

Unfortunately, all good things came to an end, and the sound of her alarm beeping and telling her it was now ten in the morning told her to stop making out with her boyfriend and get up.

Still, being able to call Jeremy her 'boyfriend'… even when it was because her alarm was yelling at her to get up, gave her heart a joyous feeling that she hasn't felt in a long time.

After one last loving kiss she finally parted from him, blushing ever so slightly and smiling warmly at him before she sighed and rolled off him. "Alright… stupid alarm clock ruining my mornings." She said as she smacked the snooze button.

"At least be happy your alarm clock doesn't talk back to you." He told her with a giggle.

"Your alarm clock talks to you?"

"Sentinel wakes me up every morning at the same time and runs down the list of things I need to do. I can't even tell it to shut up and leave me alone either…"

She chuckled as both of them got up and she changed out of her night gown and he changed into his normal clothes. One thing that changed between them a few days ago was her being comfortable enough to change in front of him, at least when she was wearing a normal bra and panties under her nightgown. Jeremy also wore undergarments to bed, and all he really had to change was his shirt to his normal day shirt.

The first time she changed in front of him he was a 'little' surprised, but giggled and told him that he had permission to see her in her panties and bra now that they were going out. Truthfully this was the first time she ever did this for any male, even her ex didn't get this treatment. The first time she changed in front of him she was nervous, but she smiled to herself and said that he had permission. Just thinking that he watched her changing or saw her more intimate moment made her feel happy, it made her feel 'special' because she's it was him, and she knew he loved her.

That wasn't to say she didn't watch him changing either, she'd sneak peaks at his chest, seeing how there was no 'fat' to be seen when she asked Aelita for some reference on humans who were 'fat' or chubby. Though she reasoned, this was because he never ate a lot and the constant work with the drones kept him in decent shape. That and Ema the medical drone kept him on his ideal weight.

After a while they finished dressing and went to the kitchen downstairs where Aelita's holospere sat on the kitchen table. The AI was lying on her stomach and flicking her legs back and forth while she rested her chin on her hands grinning as they walked in. She raised an eyebrow at Jeremy as he picked waved hello to her, nodding at Gazelle with a knowing smile.

"Do you have to tease us every morning?" Jeremy asked his AI friend.

She pretended to act puzzled as she shifted her eyes before nodding in response.

"We spent the last half hour making out Aelita, and I'm not ashamed of it!" She said slyly.

Said AI rolled over and started laughing silently while flailing her legs back and forth in amusement.

After their morning ritual of kissing and loving each other, and then being teased by the ever-present AI she and Jeremy started working on breakfast. Today's breakfast was a simple soup, cooked potato with wildgrass spices and herbs. Jeremy had started getting better with cooking, no longer was he the clearly lost child in the kitchen when she first met him and invited him into her home as a guest, he now knew more about cooking than even she did. He was able to properly measure, slice and chop, manage flame temperatures and time dishes almost like a professional chef.

That was probably thanks to Aelita schooling him in secret though, and his wanting to learn to cook for her should the need arise.

She really liked that he had learned how to cook, the fact he learned for her sake touched her deeply and made her feel… well 'loved'.

"Gazelle, isn't tomorrow your birthday?" Jeremy asked as they finished eating and he took their dishes to clean.

"Yea, I'm already getting dozens of happy birthdays on Twert from fans and friends." She chuckled. "Before you ask, no there isn't anything I really want for my birthday, just you being there is present enough for me. Though I 'am' curious when yours is…"

"Aelita do you know when that is exactly… I am curious about it myself?" Jeremy asked the AI.

She nodded to say yes, she did know, but when asked when it was, she smiled and held a finger to her lips, saying it was a secret.

"Oh, come on, tell us!" She begged the AI, but Aelita shook her head in refusal.

Seeing that the AI wasn't going to spill the beans even to Jeremy, she sighed and guessed she would just have to wait until it was time to wish him a happy birthday. She had spent enough time though with Jeremy that she knew, that he would try and surprise her with a present, and she was wondering what kind of surprise present it would be. That's what she loved most about him, his genuine feelings and how he tried to help others, or in her case, 'happy'.

Her phone beeped and she saw that Franky had arrived outside with her limo to pick her up for her shoot.

"Well Jeremy I'll see you later, work calls." She said as she got up to leave, but before she did, she gave him a peck on the cheek, which in turn caused her to want more…

So, she smirked and kissed his lips again like that morning, kissing him and feeling her love for him seep from her heart in waves. Her heart knew it was going to be a while before it could feel his again, and so wanted to send as much of its love to his so that it would have plenty to go on until they were reunited. His in turn did the same, as she felt his love 'flow' into her heart, and she felt both safe and at peace, a strange combination she's never felt like she was lacking before.

After a while they separated and she left to climb into her limo and drive away, sighing almost longingly as she already missed Jeremy's presence, a feeling shared by her heart.

"I take it you two had an eventful morning ma'am?" Franky called from the driver's seat.

"Is it that obvious?" She replied.

"It's written all over your face that you have a boyfriend Gazelle!" He laughed.

She chuckled back, knowing that he was only teasing her because he was happy for her. "I can't help myself, he's wonderful and I've never been so happy before with anymammal."

"We're glad for you two, when Jeremy told us how he was afraid to love you we thought you two might never get together."

"I'm glad he didn't think that way either…" She replied sadly as she lamented that sad thought.

Just imagining Jeremy, giving up on having 'any' hope of finding love, living his life alone even if he had friends… just thinking of the endless torment his heart would suffer every day, watching others pair up around him and being happy while he grew colder and more alone…

Her heart felt a bit saddened at that, and it quickly demanded she never think it again, a request she was more than happy to oblige.

"So, Gazelle, anything you wish for your birthday?" Franky asked from the driver's seat.

(Aelita's PoV)

Right on cue having texted Franky and his brothers in private before one of them picked her up, she took control of Gazelle's phone like before and poked her head onto the screen to listen in.

"Oh, you know me, I'm not really interested in anything, well nothing anymammal can really give me."

The AI however highly doubted that, even as she rolled her eyes while her phone was hidden in the antelope's pocket.

"Well what about that uh one dream you had when you were young that you told us about?"

"Flying, I mean I've flown before, even if it was in a plane and was a passenger heading off to another city for a concert." She heard Gazelle say dreamily. "I know it's silly, but I've always wanted to touch the clouds…"

Smirking to herself now that she got what she needed Aelita slipped out of the phone to return to her holosphere as Jeremy was walking with her to the facility, having been taken there by his Solar carriage.

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Make sure those pistons are properly aligned Lula, otherwise the drone will be limping every other step." He shouted while checking over the servos of the DOG drone.

"Got it!" Lula called as she welded a piece of the armor back on.

He was teaching Lula again today, showing her how to use some of the more 'advanced' tools that the base offered, such as micro-welding torches capable of precision welds so narrowly close it almost made two separate pieces welded together appear to have been solid from the start. It was the same technology the ANT drones used to weld together materials for their precision repairs throughout the base.

She also was learning how to use purple flame torches to melt through and cut apart other various materials. Similar to oxy-fueled cutting torches like the mammals used, but unlike theirs the facility's burned at such a high temperature that the flame came out 'purple', much like how Celios' plasma bullets were purple because they were a much higher temperature. Compared to the drones which used blue plasma-based weapons.

While she'd never use this in a real job she was hoping to get, namely getting a job as a mechanic, she wanted to learn more from him and the facility because it was similar to what she would use out there. That and she was also wanting to help more with the drones since Jeremy now spent more time with Gazelle then in the base, and they needed constant repairs with him gone so often.

Though he noticed something about the drone's behavior the more Lula learned about how to fix them from him. The more she learned the less 'interested' or 'willing' they were in wanting to be fixed by her. He figured it was the HPPs telling them to not accept her help, according to their HPPs if Jeremy no longer was required to fix them, they had 'less' reason to protect him so fiercely. It was mostly the Category Six drones doing this though, and he knew that 'even' if he was no longer needed to fix them, they still were programmed to protect him in the end, as Lula could only really fix major problems with them if he was there.

Finally, after what felt like hours he sighed and took the visor that MUTT put over his face so he could work on the drone safely. Upon sensing the end of the repair cycle, MUTT began to separate from his body and jumped off to land on the ground in its normal form.

"There, this drone is fixed." He declared proudly as the RAPTOR turned to normal.

Lula stepped back so that she could watch the drone activate and test its body. "So how are you feeling Pete?"

**[This unit is operating efficiently, thank you Unit Jeremy and Unit Lula.]** PT-173 stated.

"What happened to you drone?" He asked with a sigh. "You had damaged parts 'inside' of your body that weren't even related to your arms. Your tail sensors were all out of alignment and one of your optics was shattered on the inside."

**[Unknown, this unit was simply in a recharging cycle, and then there is a memory gap between after waking up and then prior to this unit's request for repairs.]**

"Just be more careful alright Pete?" Lula said with a smirk as she tapped his rear with a wrench. "You're like the only drone here who doesn't mind me working on them now."

**[That is because you are this unit's 'friend'…]** It stated politely.

"Whatever it was I have to leave you two, I have to go and do some research in the holoroom for a bit." He said wearily as he walked out of the Drone Parts Storage Bay. "MUTT resume your normal duties and return to the charging bay."

**[Bark bark]**

"Take care Jeremy!" Lula called as he walked out.

As he walked out and headed to the holoroom his thoughts were entirely on the next day and Gazelle's birthday present that he had 'zero' idea of giving her. He just didn't know what to offer her, what could he offer her, what could 'he' possibly offer her that someone else couldn't offer her?

"I know in the past that… well 'before' the final war humans also gave each other presents on their birthdays, and presents given to special individuals are supposed to be… 'special'." He muttered to himself as he walked into the holoroom. "I can't buy anything because I don't make money… and while I'm sure that if I walked in and explained my situation, they would no doubt understand just because of who I am… I just can't do that…"

As he walked over to the middle of the room and requested a headpiece and bands, he sighed as he typed on a holo-hud.

"Let's see, show me gifts given for love…"

He turned around and watched as the holroom started showing him visual representations of his request.

**(List compiled based on the greatest signs of love given by humans over the centuries according to historical records.)** Sentinel declared, as first to appear was a building shrunk to scale covered in beautiful green vegetation. **(The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, known as one of the seven wonders of the world, given by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife, Queen Amytis due to her stating how she missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland.)**

"There is no way I can build a massive garden complex; do you have anything… 'smaller'?" He asked incredulously.

Instantly the building was replaced by a bejeweled egg, glittering elegantly with intricate runes designs and covered in sapphires and rubies. **(The Faberge Eggs created as gifts from Russian Czars to their wives between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. This gift was more commonly seen given around the Easter Season.)**

"Great, from giant garden complex to gilded egg, and Aelita told me to not be a gilded lily… anything 'smaller' and more 'reasonable'?"

The egg vanished and was replaced by a beautiful necklace of intricately strung diamonds where a heart was split in half to end in a beautiful diamond shaped in a teardrop pattern. **(Known as the Taylor-Burton Diamond, a 69-carat diamond was gifted from famous actor Richard Burton to his wife, Elizabeth Taylor.)**

"What a waste of perfectly good materials… and way too expensive for me to even think about." He muttered, wondering why his species wasted so much for something hardly ever worn on a daily basis. "Next idea?"

The diamonds were replaced by a space shuttle. **(Russel Brand was given a trip to outer space by his wife Katy Perry at the time, for his thirty-fifth birthday.)**

"Only drone capable of doing that is Celios… no way will he even let Gazelle near him, let alone take me and her on a trip to space." He muttered as he signaled Sentinel to continue.

The space shuttle was replaced by a rug, which unrolled to reveal a woman in a suggestive pose. **(The Egyptian queen Celopatra gifted Roman Emperor Julius Caesar a magnificent carpet, and as it was unrolled, she was revealed before him as she had smuggled herself before him. While records indicate that 'she' was the ultimate gift of 'love' to Caesar, the rug is the symbolic offering of love.)**

"Great, a rug…" He muttered as he waved away to gift to nothingness. "I just don't know what to give her, should I make her a present? Should I try to ask for help, should I just bite the bullet and beg some mammal to help me?"

He felt a splash of water hit the back of his head and turned to see Aelita smiling behind him, having thrown the holographic balloon to get his attention.

"Aelita what was that for?" He complained. "I'm trying to figure out what to give Gazelle for her birthday."

She frowned as she looked at him before she snapped her fingers and made all the gifts, he had been looking at appear before him. She then nodded at them and raised her eyebrow as if saying 'like these gifts?'.

"Okay maybe I went overboard in my research… but I just don't know what to give her Aelita." He said in defeat. "What could I possibly give her, an idol, a model, someone who is as 'famous' as her? Sure I'm famous but that's only because I'm a human… not like her who-"

Once again, his face was hit by a water balloon as Aelita gave him an unamused expression. She then sighed and put her hand to her face while shaking it. She then walked over to him with a knowing smile even as her body changed so it was the same height as he was, though as before she still kept her childish appearance. She patted his shoulder knowingly and warmly, before she started singing…

**(I've been reading books of old… the legends and the myths…)** She sang as she waved her hand and made the gifts appear one by one, vanishing as each was replaced.

**(Achilles and his gold…)** A man stood atop a mountain of wealth clad in ancient armor and carrying a spear.

**(Hercules and his gifts…)** He was replaced by another far more muscular man posing as he stood atop a mythical Hydra.

**(Spider man's control and batman with his fists!)** She replaced the heroes with himself but wearing both comic book character's outfits, pretending to be said heroes.

But then she returned to his normal self, looking plain and boring by comparison and wearing a sad smile. **(And clearly I don't see myself upon that list…)** She sang before vanishing and reappearing next to him as Gazelle. **(But she said where d'you wanna go? How much you wanna risk? I'm not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts! Some superhero, some fairytale bliss)**

She made two pictures of superheroes and mythical creatures appear next to her, and as Gazelle shoved them aside as she stepped over to him and hugged him.

**(Just something I can turn to; somebody I can kiss…)** She said as she blew a kiss at him with a smile. **(I want something just like this!)**

She smiled as she made a holographic Jeremy appear and held him close while making his holographic self hold her back. **(Oh, I want something just like this…)**

The holoroom exploded into color without his realizing it, and he found himself floating in a void filled with stars and floating planets. On each planet's face various scenes of him played out, such as his holding her hand and promising that Ema will cure the diseases and cancers she had thought impossible to believe…

**(Oh, I want something just like this!)**

To him showing her and her friends the holroom for the first time where they danced and 'kissed' for the first time…

**(I want something just like this…)**

To him enjoying a picnic with her in the park, even when he slept by accident and was covered by Flutterbugs, amusing her and causing her to give him a sweet kiss on his cheek.

**(I've been reading books of old, the legends and the myths, the testaments they told… the moon and its eclipse…)** She sang as a unicorn and a Pegasus appeared, one shining silver light and the other radiating orange light, flew into each other and out of sight but leaving a bright spot for him to look at. **(Superman unrolls a suit before he lifts…)**

He saw himself posing as superman, wearing that same cape and outfit that looked similar to the one Jeffrey Vulps drew him wearing, before he deflated and instead looked like his same self.

**(But I'm not the kind of person that it fits…)** His holographic self sang before Aelita shifted and became Gazelle once more. **(But she said where d'you wanna go? How much you wanna risk? I'm not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts! Some superhero, some fairytale bliss…)**

She smiled and was replaced by images of her and Jeremy, cuddling, holding hands, or more recently kissing while not being embarrassed or ashamed, wearing looks of peaceful content and love for one another.

**(Just something I can turn to; somebody I can kiss… I want something just like this!)**

Once more the planetary bodies began swirling and floating around him as Aelita reappeared next to him, smiling as she directed her performance for him. On each planet a scene played out like before, from his making the agreement with the mayor for the free vaccines and cures created by ema…

**(Oh, I want something just like this!)**

To him making the bargain with Mr. Big to teach his car engineers to make 'green tech' vehicles to help reduce their need for fossil fuels…

**(I want something just like this!)**

To him meeting the Vulps and meeting the fox cub whose life he risked his own, and that of his species early extinction to save by bringing up the Synthorgans from his base…

**(Oh, I want something just like this…)**

All of the planets circled around them as Aelita motioned with her arms, until they morphed together to form one singular planetary body, and on that massive planet was the scene of him and Gazelle sleeping peacefully under the covers of his bed in the facility.

Then at long last Aelita's demonstration ended with a flash of white light, and he was back in the holoroom with her sitting and smiling at him while on a stool normal sized.

He sighed as he took her message to heart. "I'm trying to be more than I am and that isn't what Gazelle wants, she wants something from 'me'."

Aelita nodded as she jumped off her stool and stood before him, placing her hand over his heart and smiling as she closed her eyes and placed her other hand over where her heart would be.

"Give her something from my heart?" He asked to which she nodded. "Well, what do I give her? I still don't know what to give her Aelita."

She looked thoughtful before she gestured at herself with one hand, before she smiled and gestured at herself using the other hand.

"I'll ask the 'Wisdom of Humanity' if that's what your questioning me for." He said with a smile. "Ask the Wisdom of Humanity

Surely his species collected wisdom could answer such a simple question by their standards, even if it was probably super complicated to him.

She smiled as she placed the palms of her hands together and closed her eyes as if in prayer, and posed his question to the billions upon billions of hypothetical, metaphorical, philosophical and ethical database referred to by his father as the Wisdom of Humanity. Even as he watched billions of debates were happening in Aelita's AI, as questions, answers, debates and other thoughts raged, all trying to find the ideal outcome for his question.

After a while she smiled and placed a hand over her heart, and from there a bright light appeared and lingered for a while, and then held her arms out to him as if waiting for him to embrace her.

Jeremy however was more 'confused', as the lack of words made it hard for him to understand her message. Obviously, she meant 'something from his heart', but the bright light wasn't working for him. Did she want him to give her a bright light for her present, a lamp, what did she want? And what

Seeing that he was drawing blanks Aelita shook her head with a 'good grief' expression, and then snapped her fingers.

**(Translation, Unit Aelita states, 'Give Gazelle a present from your heart that will light her world, because you are now her world as she is now yours. For when you were lost in the dark, she became your beacon of light.)** Sentinel declared for her.

"Ah… sorry I wasn't able to figure it out…" He said sheepishly to which she nodded in understanding.

When he learned what she meant he thought carefully about a possible present, and wondered what he could give her that would 'light her world' and came from his heart? He just wasn't sure…

Until…

"Aelita… do we have any more Glass Silicon containers or any more of the same Glass Silicon used to envelop the Solar Core, like what I used for the memorial monument?"

Aelita smirked as she flicked her hands and created a pair of spectacles and piece of paper, and read it carefully. She nodded after a while.

"Perfect!" He exclaimed. "Now I just need to use the same method as last time to get a tiny piece of the Solar Core…"

Half an hour later he and Aelita were in the Solar Core room with five DOG drones, two RAPTOR drones, and around roughly two hundred ANT drones to assist. The DOG drones were using their mechanical arms with the RAPTOR drones to lift an extremely thin Glass Silicon straw which had an extremely tiny drill on one end, so thin it could drill a hole into anything. The size of the hole could be as wide as a full millimeter, or in this case, a full twentieth the size.

The process he was using to get the drill going had to be extremely precise, because the Solar Core was 'extremely' sensitive to anything interrupting it. Even a single narrow hole in its container could potentially spill out immense radiation, let alone risking the solar core going explosive.

"Alright here we go…" He muttered as he used a visor to control the drones, as they would be far more precise and less prone to shaking.

The drones lowered the drill toward the core's container for the ANTs below, slowly and carefully, while ANT drones crawled along carrying a tiny silicon container about two centimeters in diameter. It was three times the size of what the monument had, but its size would still make it too tiny to be used as a source of power like the full-sized core. Yet it's size would make it more effective at being a 'light' and would be extremely warm to the touch.

Once the drill was in position the ANT drones controlled by Aelita used their tiny drills to drill a 'singular' hole into the glass silicon, and placed the container at the hole so it would act as a suction for the straw to slide the piece of Solar Core into it. Then the ANT drones below used their collective whole to lift and aim it to the bottom of the core.

The drill was designed both to drill 'into' the core and then seal it up so that the casing around the core remained solid. It had to be done precisely.

They did this once before successfully, but only AFTER he tested it extensively in the holoroom to ensure no mistakes would be made in the process.

"Drill in position… let's go!" He declared as he gave the order.

Drilling commenced as a single micro-hole was drilled into the core's container base. He watched through the eyes of an ANT drone as it drilled closer and closer to the glowing ball of fire, willing it and keeping it straight. Once it broke through the container the drill stopped and opened up, permitting a small stead amount of the core to be sucked into the glass straw.

The drill was tipped with diamond, allowing it to drill into 'anything', and it was able to resist the core's intense molten heat. Yet he also calculated how much he could extract as he had to be precise and quick.

Two seconds after the core was exposed to the straw, he gave the order to seal it up, and the drill was extracted at the same time as a tiny glass silicon seal was placed into the hole to block it. The natural heat of the core melted it seamlessly, and the ANTs used tiny plasma torches to melt the excess glass silicon off, so it was once more universally smooth and tightly sealed.

The whole process took a total of five seconds, yet it was the most 'intense' five seconds of his life.

But as the ANT drones walked back onto the platform with their straw, drill, and finally the glass silicon container that had been sealed, he saw the results of his effort before him. He smiled as he picked up the tiny container, and stared at its beautiful orange glow lighting his face. Aelita too stared at it, awestruck that he'd accomplished it. True he did this before, but she still was amazed at his work…

"Now the hard part…" He chuckled to Aelita. "Making the necklace…"

Before he could leave Aelita stopped him to discuss an idea she had for Gazelle's birthday. Out of curiosity he listened to her plan and agreed he would do it.

(Gazelle's PoV)

"What a day…" She complained as she stepped into her limo at around midday.

The photoshoot had been long, dull, and overall just took forever to conclude, but she knew it was needed for the magazine. The interview however was something she could have gone without and wished she didn't need to do, but again it was for the magazine. Her agent George said she had to do it, so she did it.

"I hate those questions regarding concert, it was 'not' a publicity stunt using the cures from Ema for my fame, I considered it an 'honor' to do the charity concert!"

Paparazzi would always ask the questions she hated the most, but she knew how to deal with them after all these years. She just said 'any mammal would be honored in my position to host a charity concert for such a noble cause, even if that cause is helping buy materials, if the materials are used to save lives' and was done with it.

The one thing she was looking forward to as Franky drove her home was going home and spending another wonderful night with Jeremy, kissing him, cuddling him, maybe watching a movie with him, eating dinner… just the thought that she could be with him made her heart soar.

*Briiiiiiing*

She glanced at her phone and saw that it was Aelita texting her. She quickly read it and frowned in disappointment as she read her message.

{A. Dear Gazelle, Jeremy has to spend the night in the facility as he is preparing your birthday present. As it's a 'special' present, it is going to take some time. He will see you tomorrow for your birthday though… be patient girl ; D ~!}

She frowned in disappointment; she had been looking forward to being with him tonight. Even 'if' he was preparing her present, it just wouldn't be as good a night without him.

"Something wrong ma'am?" Franky asked.

"It's Jeremy… he can't come back to home tonight, he needs to stay in the facility overnight." She said sadly.

"Aww, I'm sorry to hear that… but its for a good reason, right?"

"Aelita says he's preparing a present for me tomorrow since it's my birthday… I just wish he could have come back home for the night at least."

"If your present is from Jeremy you know it'll be special!" He said cheerfully.

"Yes… and I know I'll love it when he gives it to me!" She chuckled warmly. "But I'm going to be miserable and lonely until then…"

She sat in silence as she was driven to her home, and eventually walked through the front door into the interior. She sighed as she went to the kitchen and ate some yogurt, unable to make herself something to eat since Jeremy wasn't there.

As she took a large spoonful of her 'dinner', she sighed as she felt her heart pine for its other half.

"So, this is what it feels like to be alone when you finally experience love?" She muttered as she ate. "Really hate it now that I'm feeling it…"

Her heart was in agreement, it missed Jeremy's heart, and now that it no longer was there, she felt alone and bitter. Before Jeremy when she lived alone, she didn't pay much attention to getting a boyfriend, she just relaxed and went about her day, watched some tv and went to bed, lazed about and other things. Now however, now that she had Jeremy… she just wanted to call Franky to pick her up, go to his facility and spend the night with him, not wanting to spend another day apart now that they were un/officially together.

Her yogurt finished and not finding any reason to watch tv if Jeremy wasn't there, she went to her bed and flopped onto it after taking off her clothes and slipping into her nightgown.

She rolled onto her side and thought about Jeremy and what he was doing, was he awake, was he exhausted, was he working on her birthday present? She missed him, missed seeing his face, missed hearing his voice…

Missed his touch…

His lips on her lips… she thought while touching her lips with the tip of her fingers.

Her hands around her… as she slowly rubbed her arm…

Thinking of Jeremy, and thinking of Jeremy when he held her that night, when he went into shock after starting to undress her…

She thought about that as she edged her hand lower and lower toward her nether region, thinking deeply about his actions, and wondering what if he hadn't frozen up. Would she have let him keep going, would she have fought back… would she have hated him for what he did, for rushing their relationship like that or thought he was trying to take advantage of her?

'_No, even if he did try and take me that night… I would have gone along with it.'_ She thought warmly as she began rubbing herself. _'He loves me, and I love him… he's the first male I've ever… 'ever'… willingly wanted to go all the way with. Even my ex didn't get to the stage where I was comfortable changing in front of him, and now I change in front of Jeremy's eyes every morning and night!'_

Sure, her brain took control when her heart had had its time, but she still loved him and if push came to shove, her heart would win the steering wheel battle in the end.

She continued to rub herself, picturing that scene, and imagining history being different as she kissed him while nude, wearing only those Eden Facility robes. She imagined him reaching up to her shoulder like before, and slowly starting to lower it off her to undress her, only this time he didn't pause out of shock. Instead he kept going and going until she was completely nude for him…

Then she'd do the same and undo his own robes, so they were no longer hidden from one another. She'd see his bare body in all of its glory, just like hers was on display for only him…

She pictured herself spreading her legs and wrapping them around his waist… And he'd start to press into her…

She tensed up as her body suddenly released as her imagination went wild, unable to control itself. She calmed down as she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, frowning as she waited for sleep to take ahold of her and for her birthday to finally arrive so that she could be with Jeremy again.

'_Whatever his present is I'll love it~!'_ She thought happily as sleep took ahold of her.

The next day came as promised, and she was greeted in the late morning by her four backup dancers, all of them bearing presents for her. She was surprised that her other friends were not able to attend, apparently, they were all very busy. The one face she was disappointed in not seeing was Jeremy's, for she had been hoping he'd be there early before any of them so she could spend some alone time to make up for missing him yesterday.

"Open mine first!" Franky called as she looked at the gift-wrapped boxes.

She was smug with her grin as she picked up Franky and pretended to be surprised when she unwrapped the latest gaming console, she knew her friends so well that she figured all their presents were related to their favorite pastime hobby, video games.

Sure enough, Donny, Moe and Joe's presents were also video games for that console. She wasn't a big 'video game' player, but she still liked their presents and imagined maybe her, and Jeremy could play a few games.

"Say anymammal know where Jeremy is?" Donny asked as she opened up the last present from them.

"He isn't here yet… I was actually hoping he'd show up sooner." She said sadly.

"Maybe he's being fashionably late?" Moe said.

**(When the last eagle flies, over the last crumbling mountain…)** A voice suddenly sang out warmly, accompanied by a serenade beat from one of their phones. **(And the last lion roars, at the last dusty fountain…)**

**(In the shadow of the forest, though she may be old and worn…)** The almost heavenly voice sang out now from another phone as they looked to their phones. **(They will stare unbelieving, at the last… unicorn…)**

She looked at her phone and saw that Aelita had taken over not only hers but her friends' phones, she stood on the screen singing warmly and happily toward them even despite the mournful underlying tone of her song.

"Aelita…" She tried to say but the AI hushed her and resumed singing.

**(When the first breath of winter, through the flower is icing… and you look to the north, and a pale moon is rising~.) **She sang as images of the creature Jeremy once described to her; the Unicorn appeared on their phones. **(And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn… in the distance hear the laughter… of the last UNICOOOOORN!)**

*Pssssssssssscth* A loud engine roared high overhead and Aelita was replaced the image of laughing humans, all waving banners saying, 'happy birthday'.

**(I'M ALIVE… I'M ALIIIIIIIIIIVE~!)**

Aelita appeared but was playing a string instrument now, happily playing as the screen split to show an aerial view of her house as it started growing larger.

**(When the last moon is cast, over the last star of morning… and the future is past, without even a last desperate warning! Then look into the sky where through, the louds a path is formed, look and see her how she sparkles, it's the last UNICORN!)**

**(I'm aliiiiiiiiiiive…. I'M ALIIIIIIIIIIiiiive…)**

Aelita winked and vanished, returning their phones to normal, but leaving them with the text message {A. check outside~!}.

She got up with her friends and walked outside to see the startling scene of Jeremy stepping out of the 'head' of one of his Facility's flying drones, namely the Harrier drones as he called them. Said harrier drone had its wings folded and was walking on massive talon-like metal feet, looking very intimidating as it sat on her home's front lawn next to her limo. In Jeremy's hand was Aelita's holosphere as she waved hello with him.

"Something tells me your 'present' from Jeremy is related to that drone." Joe whispered.

"Hi Gazelle!" Jeremy called as the drone remained motionless.

She easily smiled and ran over and pulled him into a hug, laughing a little as she was not expecting this to be on her front lawn.

"Jeremy, you sure took your time." She said with a laugh. "What is all this about?"

"I had to spend all last night and even a bit of this morning working on the drone." He explained as he handed Aelita to Franky. "I had to adjust the cockpit so that it could fit two individuals, as most HARRIER drones were designed for one pilot and not two. I brought it because I wanted to know… if you would be interested in going for a flight."

She just gaped as she looked at the drone and just imagined herself flying in that thing. "Your present is a flight in…"

"I uh… was told by your friends through Aelita that you dreamed of flying when you were young, so I wanted to know if you wanted to fly for your birthday?" He said shyly.

She glanced over at her friends who were grinning and chuckling, telling her that he spoke the truth. "Jeremy… I'd LOVE to go flying with you!" She whispered happily.

With a nod he held her hand as he led her to the drone's head, which split open and flipped forward to reveal two seats placed side by side in the drone's angular head. Despite its size there was plenty of room for both chairs, but it was obvious that he had shifted quite a bit around so they could fit. As she climbed in her friends yelled, they would prepare her 'real' birthday party, namely her cake and decorations while they are off flying around. She just chuckled as the drone's head sealed up and Jeremy helped her buckle in. "Do we need masks or…"

"All HARRIER Drones are designed by default to be almost completely vacuum sealed and pressurized, even if we left the atmosphere, we wouldn't need to wear special masks unless we open the hatch at a high enough altitude." He explained as he flipped some switches and his armrests glowed. "Ready to fly?"

"Always!" She chuckled as the drone shifted and the wings unfolded.

**[Engaging flight mode…]**

While she was watching her phone started sounding off another song, no doubt from Aelita to add to the scene.

**(It's my time to fly… I'm proving ground tonight… try to be the best that I can.)** As the drone turned around and started floating up and away from her home, causing her to feel exhilarated. **(Grown to be a man, only human can understand, I fill my lungs with fear and I…. 'exhale'…)**

Once they were high enough Jeremy smirked and lurched his arms forward on his armrests, and the drone 'surged' forward at a rapid pace.

**(It's my TIIIIIIME to fly…. Father be with me tonight, oooh I'm right on target, keep that dream alive, IT'S MY TIIIIIIME to fly…. Gatta prove this tonight~!)**

"Whoaaaaaaaa~!" She screamed as Zootopia just 'melted' away behind her.

She watched the glittering city where she lived shrank faster and faster, until it was practically gone within seconds.

Jeremy smiled as he slowed it down and they started cruising at a much slower pace compared to what she 'knew' the drone was capable of. Soon they were soaring over lush fields, which were soon replaced by forests, then plains and villages down below which all vanished as they flew over them.

She was just amazed, absolutely amazed at the capabilities of human technology, able to soar faster than anything she was able to imagine made by mammals. She glanced at Jeremy as he smirked and then lurched sideways, sending the drone into a spiral which caught her completely off guard.

"Whoaaaaaaaa!" She yelled as the world spun around her.

"Hahaha I've always wanted to do that!" He told her with a laugh.

"Do it again~!"

He nodded and repeated it, sending the drone spiraling the other direction as he angled it toward the heavens, toward the clouds in the sky. They broke the clouds and she stared in awe as she was now above them, looking at their fluffy bodies that looked sooo soft and solid.

**(It's my turn to fly… father be with me tonight…. Ooooooh I'm right on target~)**

"This is amazing!" She yelled as the clouds flew past her outside.

"Hey Gazelle look, no hands~!" He called as he raised his hands in the air.

**[No manual control detected; Autopilot engaged.]** The drone stated.

"Way to kill the joke drone, just saying." He muttered as he returned his arms to the arm rests.

**[Manual control detected; Autopilot disengaging.]**

"Hey Gazelle, do you want to try taking it for a spin?" He asked her seriously.

"Wait… you mean it really?"

"Yea, here's how the controls work." He said as he looked toward his arms. "You push both arms forward or back to speedup or slow down, push one forward and the other back to turn a certain direction. Then you grip the armrests and lift them up or push them down to make it go up or down."

"I'll try not to damage it." She chuckled as she readied herself and Jeremy let go.

**[New manual input detected… awaiting orders.]**

"Here we go…" She said as she urged the drone forward, and marveled that it obeyed.

**(It's my time to fly, father be with me tonight… ooooh I'm right on target, keep that dream alive!)**

She eased it back a little as Jeremy clapped approvingly. "Go all out if you want, push this bird to its limits~!"

"You asked for it…" She smiled before she lurched her arms forward and sent the drone roaring at maximum speeds, at least what 'she' thought was maximum.

**(Deep in 3043 the refugees survived, the whole of humanity lies in my hand… give me the chance tonight, I'll prove to you what's in my eyes, bring us to victory, our dreams become REALITY!)**

She laughed loudly as she made the drone swirl and spiral around, before she grinned as Jeremy started panicking at her expression. She then gripped the arm rests and pulled hard to send the drone flying upward toward the sky again. Within moments the drone burst through the clouds and she leveled it out at last, enjoying the rush she had gotten from flying, even as below through breaks in the cloud she saw that they had flown over the ocean.

She calmed down and let Jeremy regain control and slow down the drone.

**(It's my turn to fly… father be with me tonight…. Ooooooh I'm right on target…)**

She just stared around her at the clouds as they floated past them, enjoying the view and marveling at the sense of freedom they had… all thanks to this one drone.

"Do you want to touch them?" He asked her.

"Like… touch the clouds?"

He nodded, and she nodded as well. The hatch opened and air rushed in, but she tentatively reached out of the drone's cockpit and at long last… touched a cloud with her own hand.

It felt like nothing she ever imagined; it wasn't fluffy it wasn't solid… it just felt 'wet'… but it still was amazing to feel a cloud with her own hand.

"It's amazing…" She whispered.

For just five minutes she felt the clouds, felt the fly past her, felt the world feel 'small' and beautiful. She just had no words left to describe her day.

(Enter Jeremy's PoV)

"There's one more thing I want to show you Gazelle." He said as she pulled her hand back in and the drone sealed up again, making their space airtight and waterproof.

"What is it?"

In response he angled the drone downward toward the ocean.

"Jeremy?"

**[Alert, alert, this unit is not designed for underwater travel… angle adjustment highly recommended.]**

"Drone, I know full well what you can and can't do, you forget I spent three hours last night going over your schematics." He told the drone as he adjusted the angle again.

"Jereeeeemy!" She yelled as the ocean swiftly sped toward them.

They braced themselves as the drone slammed into the water and surged underneath, and soon stared as the water was all around them. He angled the drone and activated its plasma engines to propel them forward while underwater, and set the cruising speed for her. Around them they saw various aquatic forms of life, species of fish that had never existed during Jeremy's time swimming around them as gentle sunlight broke through the water's surface…

"I wanted to show you a world you've never seen…" He muttered as he looked around with her.

She stared in awe and wonder, and just turned to him with a warm smile on her face. "Jeremy… this is the best present I've ever had for my birthday in my life…"

"About that this isn't your present from me…" He chuckled in embarrassment. "This is just an… elaborate excuse to get you away from your home so that your friends could set up your surprise birthday party. Your other friends are probably at your home now preparing the party."

She looked surprised at that explanation. "So… what 'is' my present from you?"

At that he nervously reached down and pulled up a metal tiny box, and handed it to her. She opened it to see a small necklace with a chain around twenty inches in length, wrapped around a main piece which looked like an egg, similar to the Cryopod Jeremy was found it which had been labeled his 'egg', with two wings covering it on one side, while another two wings mirrored it on the other side. She picked it up and stared at this simple necklace, before she saw a curious looking button on the bottom of it.

Clicking the tiny button, she marveled as the wings slowly unfolded themselves and spread wide, revealing a clear glass silicon container which contained…

"Jeremy…" She whispered in disbelief.

A Solar Core fragment, a tiny Solar Core fragment lighting up the cockpit with its beautiful orange glow, glistening and glimmering the world with its light.

"I asked for help with designing it… the egg was to represent my pod I was found in…" He explained nervously.

"Jeremy…" She whispered.

"The wings… I made because I know your nickname mammals give you is 'Angel with Horns', so I figured you'd like it…"

"Jeremy…"

"It took me a while to make the switch work… I wanted it to open up to reveal the Solar Core Fragment because… it's a cheesy way of saying 'you are my light in this world'…"

"Jeremy." She said, causing him to look at her face.

"Yes?"

"Shut up…" She whispered, before shoving forward and pressing her lips against his.

He was only slightly shocked as she kissed him, but after a while he relaxed and closed his eyes while leaning into her, holding her tightly and kissing her just as deeply. She used one hand to unbuckle herself so she could climb out of her seat and into his so she could sit in his lap while kissing her 'man'.

After a while they separated but each had a look of love and trust on their faces.

"I love it Jeremy…" She whispered warmly as she used one hand to put it over her head and let it hang, casting them both in its beautiful glow, feeling its warmth through her dress and fur. "And I love you so much for what you've done for me today…"

"And I love you Gazelle, for everything you've done for me… since the day we met." He responded just as quietly.

They just smiled at one another before she leaned forward and once again resumed kissing him, snuggling as close as she could and just ravishing him with love, love that she had no idea she would feel or 'could' be feeling. Yet here she was, below the water's surface, in love with a human, a species that existed before her. And she could not be any happier.

Not wanting to ruin the moment, he just tapped a button on the side of his seat…

**[Autopilot engaged… setting course…]**

And just stayed that way with Gazelle in his arms, and he in hers… for over half an hour, enjoying the time they had with one another under the water while inside the drone as it swam in whatever direction it chose. Enjoying the beautiful scenery of the ocean beneath the waves…

Until…

"**Arooooooooooar…"**

Jeremy's eyes snapped open as he heard that faint note, instantly recognizing it from all the holoroom visits he had on the subject of that sound.

"Did you hear that?" He whispered as he separated from Gazelle.

She listened carefully for whatever sound he was referring to but shook her head as she heard nothing. "No, I don't hear anything." She muttered as she leaned back to resume making out with him.

When…

"**Aoooooaraaaaaooooh…"**

That time she heard it and looked around the outside of the drone's cockpit for the source of the sound, but all she saw outside was blue water and swimming schools of aquatic life.

"No way… it can't be…" He muttered in disbelief as she took her seat again.

"Jeremy what is it?"

He ignored her as he resumed control of the drone and urged it forward. "Drone, activate external scanners, lock in on that sound and provide a heading!" He ordered.

**[Alert, large biomass closing in on this unit's position.]**

Outside all of the fish started swimming rapidly away from them as Jeremy slowed the drone's speed down to a crawl, trying to get a fix on what was fast approaching and 'where' it was coming from.

"Drone, where's the source of that sound and what direction is it?" He asked again as he brought up a holohud.

**[Alert, multiple large biomasses approaching… distance… one hundred meters… eighty meters… sixty meters…]**

"What direction?" He yelled again.

**[Biomass confirmed below this unit at thirty meters… twenty…]**

"Jeremy… what is that?"

"**Weeeooooaroaaaaaaaaawh!"**

Seconds later he and Gazelle saw 'what' it was, as eight massive entities flew past their drone on either side, one after another as they swam through the water. Each of measuring over twenty meters in length as they swam after the schools of fish and ignored them. Each one had three uniquely long fins on either side of their bodies and massive gills between them, with large gaping mouths that opened wide to catch the schools of fish. They also had enormously large tailfins that pushed the water as they flew past, and with how rapidly they were moving they were soon caught up in their wake and pulled along in the draft.

"Wow!" Gazelle yelled as they were forced forward.

**[Error error error, unable to control movement, activate manual controls!]**

"Incredible!" Jeremy exclaimed as he beheld them. "They… they 'survived'!"

"Who?" She asked.

Jeremy however was too amazed as he re-engaged the drone's propulsions and chased after the giant creatures as they chased down their food. With how fast the creatures swam it was actually impressive that they were able to outpace the drone, though probably because as it explained, it was not 'designed' for underwater travel.

"Wait I know what those are, those are Titan Schooleaters." Gazelle said as she recognized them now. "They live in deep water, the only times we've ever found one is when a corpse rises to the surface or washes up ashore. They're a kind of super giant fish predator…"

"That's what you call them… but my species had a name for them…" He muttered as he stared at their enormous size. "We called them… 'whales'… and they were 'mammals' during my time."

"Mammals?" She muttered in disbelief, wondering how on earth 'those' could be classified as 'mammals'.

"They didn't breathe oxygen through the water before I was born, they breathed air just like you and me… they had to surface every so often to breathe… gave birth like land species might… but I was told most if not all went extinct during the final war…"

They followed after the herd of 'whales' as they swam and ate their prey, eventually slowing down after the hunt and starting to relax, and that was when Jeremy maneuvered the drone closer to one of them, his desire to learn more, to get closer, to understand overriding the drone's cautionary messages.

As they got closer and shined a light on one of the whale's eyes, its eye turned and stared directly into his.

"**Aoooooooar…"** It called out gently.

"You survived…" He whispered quietly. "You must have evolved to survive underwater… it was the only way you could stay safe… and the flippers…" He said as he looked at their 'six' flippers, three on each side as they lazed and rested. "More flippers and a much larger tailfin, alongside your massive size means you could spend longer underwater without needing food… and the gills meant you didn't need air anymore from the surface which had been so irradiated… from my species' war…"

It stared at him, silently watching him as he watched it back, both of them looking at one another, Jeremy a tiny human and this 'whale' a massive titan even greater than the ones recorded in Jeremy's time.

"Jeremy… they're all looking at you." Gazelle said as she stared and saw the pod turning toward them.

He looked around and saw that indeed, all seven of them were gently rotating and looking at the two of them in their drone. "They probably are curious about the drone; it isn't something they see down here." He muttered.

"No Jeremy look, they are 'looking' at 'you'…" She exclaimed quietly as she pointed at their eyes.

Without exception, each whale had turned an eye toward them, to look as she said 'directly' at him. It was like they were investigating him, checking him out, almost more captivated to see him than the drone or Gazelle. If he had to describe how they were looking at him, they looked almost 'fascinated' to see a human, far more than they were at seeing an antelope or a metal drone in the form of a bird. Their eyes were looking deeply at him, unblinking and unwavering, staring with pure fascination for him.

"Do you… is it possible… they remember my species, through some kind of genetic memory like the sheep?" He asked as he leaned forward and pushed a hand against the glass.

Instantly he regretted his action as his hand suddenly felt the stinging cold of the ocean water, he retracted his hand as it suddenly started freezing, his disease reacting almost instantly due to the sudden cold.

"Haaannnnng…" He hissed painfully as he reflectively pulled his hand back and started shivering.

"Jeremy!" Gazelle yelled as she climbed into his seat and held him close, trying to keep him warm. "Hang on Jeremy, I'm right here… I'm right here!"

"Its… so cold… so cold… cold…" He whimpered as his body reminded him of his condition.

Once again, his body was fighting a near hopeless battle to warm itself up, reacting violently in a desperate bid to warm up, while inside his blood tried to avoid triggering his Cryogenetic Sclerosis elsewhere. Gazelle helped how she could, holding him tightly and clutching his freezing hand in a bid to warm him up, which was no so cold it felt like it had been in a freezer for hours.

He whimpered to her as he felt helpless, absolutely helpless, and she shushed and whispered encouragement into his ears. Her heart could feel his heart's fear and hers rushed to the rescue, beating loudly and proudly as if to tell it to be strong and reminding it that hers was there. She held him as close as she could, sometimes kissing him on the cheek to hush his shivers and letting her heart fight its own battle to protect his from the cold.

After a while the shivering stopped, but still Gazelle refused to let him go until she felt his hand and was sure he was out of danger.

When she was confident that he was safe, she still didn't let him go, instead she rubbed her cheek against his and whispered how she loved him, how she loves him, and that he was safe.

"Thank you…" He whispered back.

"I told you… I'll never let you go… I'll always keep you warm." She replied.

After a while they separated and shared a gentle, loving kiss.

Then they looked around and tried to find the whales again, but they were gone.

"I guess they had enough looking at me?" He muttered.

"Maybe… wish they would have…"

**[Alert, massive biomasses rapidly approaching.] **The drone declared.

"Whe-" He tried to say before suddenly he and Gazelle were thrown into his seat as the drone was shoved rapidly toward the surface.

Water surged around them as they saw the surface quickly approaching, until the drone was flung out of the water and floated on the surface with a resounding 'splash' that sent water careening over the silicon glass shielding them from the outside.

He looked around in amazement, until his wonder was captured 'again' as around them several massive bodies surged out of the water one by one, flopped back into and 'splashed' ocean water everywhere. One by one the whales surged up and out of the water, one even spiraling around and flapping its flippers as if trying to fly, before diving back into the water and kicking off with its massive tailfin.

He and Gazelle laughed at the display the 'seven' whales were doing for them. On and on it went, one whale flying out of the water to do some little display before surging back underwater, and another going to take it place, causing waves and surges of water to push them over and over in random directions, with the drone complaining the entire time that it had zero control.

Until at last a single member of the pod remained on the surface, floating beside them and staring at them, its gills opening and closing as it sucked in water constantly to compensate for not being underwater.

Something told him that it was trying to communicate with him, that it wanted to talk to him. So, he made the drone extend its wings to full length so he could open the cockpit and tentatively stepped onto the wing.

"Jeremy be careful!" Gazelle yelled as he did that.

"I know… I'm being careful." He declared as he carefully edged toward the titan of the sea.

It watched him the entire time, not moving and simply waiting for him to approach. He took a deep breath when he was close enough and knelt before it, and reached out with his hand toward its body. He was surprised, very surprised that it was warm, and tentatively touched its body to feel its almost rubbery flesh beneath his skin. He could feel every bump and curve, every tiny valley on its surface, and just shared space with it.

"I'm sorry…" He said apologetically to the creature, unable to think of any other words. "I'm sorry… for everything we did… I'm so sorry…"

He cried a little as he hiccupped and touched it, and it just blinked in response.

"I'm sorry… we didn't mean it… I'm just so sorry…"

He closed his eyes and started sobbing, before he felt pressure against his hand, and opened his eyes to see that the whale had shifted against his hand, as if to apply equal pressure to reply to him. It's eye continued to stare at him, and he saw something that just 'spoke' to him… it was just impossible to describe it, but as he stared into its eye, he thought for a brief moment he could understand what it was 'thinking'… what it was telling him.

A single phrase broke his mind as he looked into its eye, its deep, wise, almost unearthly expression…

'_Forgiven'_

With that it shoved the water against his drone and gently pushed them away, signaling that he was to return to the safety of the drone's interior, which he did. He climbed back and sealed up the drone, and they watched as it dipped back below the water, and sent them a final 'goodbye' with a massive wave of water from its tailfin.

He just smiled softly as he stared at where it had vanished, before he whispered, "Thank you…".

He sighed and smiled as he ordered the drone to vertically take off with its anti-grav fields, and then ordered the drone's autopilot to return to Zootopia, back to Gazelle's home for her surprise party. As they returned home, she smiled lovingly as snuggled against Jeremy in his seat, and chose to enjoy the ride home.

The 'Titan Schooleaters' as mammals knew them as were obviously descendants of these 'whales' from Jeremy's time, and it was clear that, like the Sheep with their religion, they still carried memories of humans, enough to recognize him almost instantly, and friendly enough that they willingly helped them back to the surface and even conversed with him in their own way. Whatever it was that one giant said to Jeremy, it had put his heart at ease.

'_The world may have not seen humans for a long time, but it hasn't forgotten them.'_ She thought warmly.

When they finally returned home to Zootopia, Jeremy and Gazelle walked into her home and to her 'surprise party' that Jeremy had spoiled earlier, but she still pretended to be surprised as she saw all of her friends, those from the parties, George her agent, her backup dancer's dates all talking and asking about her flight and what happened.

The story they spun was something they all enjoyed listening to over slices of cake, and seeing her present from Jeremy awed them at his abilities. Jeremy sheepishly tried to avoid talking about how he did it, but he couldn't avoid the questions about what whales were like if they were even remotely related to Titan Schooleaters.

Eventually the party ended and everymammal started leaving for home, leaving Jeremy, Aelita and Gazelle alone in her home. As Jeremy decided to shower first, he was upstairs in the bathroom cleaning himself up while she locked the door and closed all the blinds.

That was when Aelita texted her phone.

{A. Just so you know… it's Jeremy's Birthday too~!}

She stared in shock as she looked at the time, 11:57, and replied, {G. His birthday is on 'MY' birthday? Why didn't you tell me?!}

{A. Actually, he was born at 11:58:48 today, but the official records recorded his first breath at around 11:59:03, so they just rounded it up and wrote his official birthday down as the next day for record purposes.}

She raised her eyebrow at that, wondering why they did that.

{A. Look I may be over 350,000 years old sister, but trust me when I say they did a lot of weird things…}

{G. Like what?}

{A. Look we can either talk about the weirdness of humanity, or you can go upstairs in 2 minutes and give Jeremy a 'present' for his birthday ; ) -wink wink, nudge nudge-}

{A. I'm in your room, Jeremy dropped me off, put me downstairs and I'll let you two have privacy~!}

Smirking at the message she ran upstairs and grabbed the AI off her nightstand, and ran back downstairs to plant her on the table.

"Thanks, Aelita… I'll make tonight special for 'both' of us."

The AI winked and pretended the claw her with her fingers, and her phone went off with another text from her.

{A. Meooow go get him girl~!}

She laughed as she went upstairs and got everything ready. She closed the blinds to her room so nomammal could peep in on them, she threw her phone on the nightstand and silenced it so there'd be no interruptions, and grabbed her sexiest night dress. Before Jeremy could get out of the bathroom, she made sure the only thing he had to wear was a night robe of his own, and went into another room to change, stripping of everything so that she only had her night gown.

She looked at herself in the mirror, and took a deep breath, and asked herself if she was ready to do this… to go all the way with him?

"Yes… I am." She told herself, not feeling any fear or regret with her decision.

Hearing her door open and close and Jeremy yell "Gazelle, do you know where my clothes went?" caused her to take a deep breath and smile, as she left to go to him.

Jeremy was looking around the room as he tried to figure out where his clothes had gone, since he knew they were there when he left to clean up in the shower.

"Gazelle, do you know where my clothes went?" He yelled.

Moments later the door opened, and he heard Gazelle walk in. He turned around and saw to his surprise… Gazelle wearing a red lace trimmed nightgown with a lowcut top showing off the cleavage to her small sized bust, but hugged her body tightly enough that he could see how it curved to match her considerably sized waist. She was staring at him with a sly expression as she posed in the doorway for him and twirled her finger around the bit of hair hanging down the front of her head and held the lower end of her gown so that he could see that she wasn't wearing 'anything else' underneath it.

Needless to say, words failed him at that moment.

"Hi Jeremy…" She whispered seductively as she stepped toward him, swaying her hips from side to side and smirking the entire time. "You won't be needing those clothes tonight…"

"Ga… Gazelle I…" He stammered before she shushed him with a soft kiss.

"Shh… tonight is your night Jeremy…" She whispered. "Because while I had 'my' present from you, I haven't given you 'your' present…"

"My present but…"

"Aelita told me… your birthday is the day after my birthday, so I'm giving you a 'special' present…" She whispered warmly. "From me…" She kissed his lips. "To you…"

She smiled and kissed him deeply and soon he started returning her affection, returning her kisses as she started getting turned on by his embrace.

After a while they separated when her clock struck midnight, and she grinned seductively. "Happy birthday Jeremy…"

"Thank you, Gazelle…"

"Well what are you waiting for…" She giggled. "This dress won't take itself off you know."

And with that Jeremy kissed Gazelle more passionately than before, their lips pressing against one another as he held her waist and the back of her head, and she held his waist and wrapped around his neck.

This beautiful moment only enhanced what she was feeling as she slowly edged her hand on his waist and unwrapped his robe's belt so that it hung open for him, and then she started rubbing his chest, caressing and feeling his smooth skin against the fur on her hand. She grinned as she raised her hands to his shoulders and then edged his robes off of him.

Now naked she gasped in pleasure as he kissed her on her neck and started doing the same to her, holding her shoulders gently and edging the thin straps keeping her gown from slipping off, edging them off and letting it fall to the floor.

"Aahh…" She gasped as she turned around and wrapped her arms behind her around his neck, and started kissing his cheek, and eventually his lips as he cupped her small breasts in his hands.

While her bust was nothing impressive when compared to her waist, but she still liked how he was cupping her breasts and massaging them with his fingers. For Jeremy feeling her body, feeling her soft, warm fur was heavenly to him, unable to believe that he was doing this with her, that she would do this for him. He felt her tail gently waiving eagerly against his crock in anticipation for what they were going to be doing, and as he continued to fondle her body, both exploring the other his dick was quickly hardening and started to actually poke in between her butt cheeks. He also couldn't believe that it was his birthday, that Aelita had kept it secret from 'him', and only told Gazelle so she could do this for him.

He would thank her in the morning 'if' he remembered to, but at the moment all he could do was focus on 'his' girlfriend and trying to please her.

Gazelle felt his dick starting to 'rise up', and giggled as she turned around and stared 'eagerly' down at it.

She grinned as she pushed him forward onto her bed into a sitting position and knelt to do something, she 'never' imagined she'd be doing tonight.

"Hi there…" She giggled as she kissed his dick, which twitched in excitement.

She looked back up at Jeremy before she licked her lips and engulfed it into her mouth, first swirling her tongue around the tip to 'taste' its slightly salty texture, and then moving further along his shaft, licking and tasting every inch of it.

"Oaaaaah…" He moaned in pleasure, unable to form a coherent sentence at what she was doing. "Gazelle… that feels…"

His legs twitched slightly every time she moved up and down her shaft, sucking and suckling every bit of it while lathering her tongue over every inch she could reach. His scent was becoming overwhelming to her and she started becoming intoxicated by it. Wanting to forever ingrain this memory in her mind so that it would 'never' be forgotten, she slowed in her actions as she took as many wafts of his musky scent.

That wasn't to say she wasn't showering affection onto him, even as she stalled, she continued to suck and lick every part of his dick.

After she had thoroughly ingrained his scent into her body and mind so that she could recall it whenever she wanted, she resumed bobbing her head up and down for a few more seconds, and then pulled up and slid off him with a 'plop' and a panting breath. After licking him from tip to base she stroked his length a few times before engulfing it once more in her mouth.

"Gazelle… it feels wonderful…" He whispered as he instinctively clutched at the bed.

She grinned inwardly as she tasted something salty and musky secreting from his dick. Tasting his precum she licked and lapped at it, teasing more out and enticing his dick even further. However, she wanted to wait for the 'main event', and so once more slowly drew away from his dick, letting it go from her mouth with a 'plop' sound.

"How was that?" She asked.

"Amazing…" He moaned.

She smiled and stood up, and motioned him to do switch positions with her which he did. Now she smiled as she opened her legs up for him, exposing the lips of her now twitching femhood.

"Your turn now Jeremy~!"

He nodded held her legs with both hands before leaning closer and licking her entrance.

"Ahaaaa…" She gasped in pleasure. "Ooooh…"

Feeling her lips twitching and growing wetter, secreting a strange liquid that when he licked tasted sweet and started teasing and inching his tongue deeper to get more of.

"Ahhh… Jeremy!" She moaned as her legs tightened and she held his head, trying to tug him deeper into her. "Right there… oooooah yea~!"

After giving her the same treatment that she'd given him, he pulled away from her enticing femhood and looked into her eyes, where she smiled and pulled him into an embrace, and together they each shared each other's taste in a deep kiss.

Then she pulled him further onto her bed so that they laid fully on it. His dick twitched eagerly and excitedly as it poked her entrance, even as her femhood also twitched in excitement.

Yet he was still 'slightly' hesitant, afraid of going further despite her obviously wanting this as well.

"Go ahead Jeremy, you have my permission…" She whispered warmly.

He nodded as he leaned forward and kissed her once again, and began pressing into her. Her lips parted easily for his dick, and her passage having been stretched from years of dancing and constant exercise also stretched to encompass him easily.

Yet when he reached her virgin barrier, she only nodded 'slightly' while kissing him, gripped him tightly and wrapped her legs around his waist… and braced herself as he thrust hard and ended both of their virginities.

"Aaaah!" She gasped in slight pain.

Jeremy however, having never done this before and never been 'fully' educated in what he should do, started thrusting in and out of her passage as lines of blood left it.

"Aah~…. Ah…oah…hah~!" She moaned loudly with each thrust, gripping his body tightly as he thrust in and out of her.

It was painful at first, losing her virginity was something she wasn't prepared to feel, but because it was Jeremy, the pain almost began to fade instantly, replaced by pleasure the longer they went. Soon the traces of her one virgin barrier were replaced by juices leaking out from their love making session. Jeremy continued to thrust harder and faster as he set a pace for them.

He leaned away from her so that he could grip and massage her breasts while thrusting, and she smiled and held his shoulders, massaging them as his waist thrust deeper and harder into her.

"Oooooah… how… does it feel now?" She begged happily.

"Amazing…" He whispered as he leaned forward closer to her. "You feel warm… warm and soft inside, as well as tight. It feels… wonderful!"

"Only you… get to do this with me!" She whispered huskily. "Your mine… and I'm yours!"

He smiled with her and kissed her deeply as he started thrusting harder and faster into her passage.

Then she got bold and held him tightly, before rolling them over and grinned before bouncing up and down on his shaft.

"Ooooha ya… oooh yes… right there!" She moaned in pleasure as he held her waist and aided in her motion.

She continued to bounce up and down on his shaft for two minutes, before she slowed and smiled, helping him into a sitting position so she could hold him close, and resumed her bouncing.

"I can… feel you… so deep…" She moaned passionately, before he thrust a littler harder suddenly. "Aaaah~… you… suddenly got~…"

"Gazelle… I'm about to…" He whispered as he pushed her onto her back once again, and started thrusting harder, instinctively feeling his release approaching, and wanting to delay it however he could.

"Me too… harder… inside me…!" She yelled as the bed started shaking from their actions.

He kissed her one last time and she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, locking him in place so he couldn't pull out. Then he gave one final thrust and pushed as far as he could into her and exploded into her wet womb. At the same time, she released all over his dick, and felt his warm essence flowing into her body.

After a while they both came down from their highs, and she cuddled into his side, reaching down and pulling the blanket over them for sleep.

She smiled happily as the thought that she had just made love to the love of her life, and that she had him with her now and forever, permeated through her mind.

Jeremy was also sleeping peacefully, as he knew from that moment on, he was never alone, would never be alone, and that he had someone he loved deeply…

Yet… as it seemed always… they were not alone…

(Aelita's PoV)

She watched them from the doorway, having a crack be left open by Gazelle, as her holosphere sat on the back of a FOX drone that she'd slipped in when she and Jeremy arrived from the base with the Harrier drone. The drone had stayed hidden inside her home all day, and now it helped her watch them make love that night in secret.

She smiled warmly, truly captivated and fascinated with them.

While she knew that some mammals, or indeed 'any' living creature, might find it weird, almost downright perverted that she was spying on them in such an intimate moment… but it wasn't the case.

She was an AI; she was a machine. While some might think AIs are superior, capable of outperforming, outdoing, outclassing 'anything' living, they could not match that which was 'natural'.

It fascinated her that two entities like Gazelle and Jeremy could make love, despite the species difference, the obvious evolution difference, and a host of other things…

They could still love one another, more than enough to do this beautiful act with each other.

Truly… Humans 'and' mammals… were truly 'fascinating' to her.

The task done, she ordered the drone to return her to the table, and then return to the facility.

(Gazelle's PoV)

The next morning, she groggily woke up as her alarm alerted her to it being ten in the morning.

She hated that alarm, ruining her dream where she had just made love to Jeremy for the first time in her life.

She wearily got up and was wondering why she was in the nude and next to a nude Jeremy under the blanket, when she realized it 'wasn't' a dream, it 'had' happened.

'_I did it… I made love to him!'_ She thought excitedly.

She smiled and leaned into Jeremy's embrace as she reached and grabbed her phone, logged onto Twerter, and saw the chain of birthday wishes she received without realizing or checking yesterday.

She contemplated telling the world now that she and Jeremy were together, but hesitated.

"What's up?" Jeremy asked wearily.

She glanced at him before smiling. "Do you mind if I tell the world we're together… at this point its only a matter of time before someone realizes… and I am not going to lie anymore or beat around the bush that I'm your girl now."

Jeremy looked thoughtful before he nodded in approval.

She smiled back and kissed him on the lips, before typing into twerter…

[Gazelle Twerter : Angels of a Feather are 'finally' together… back off girls, he's mine. To all you boys, stay away, I'm his~! P.S. his birthday is after mine~ Happy B-Day Jeremy Wilheart~!]

She sent that, put her phone upside down and returned to kissing and making out with Jeremy, and seducing him into 'another' love making session, having zero plans that day other than enjoying the love she had for her human.

Even as Twerter 'exploded' at the news.

.

.

.

.

=Meanwhile In Eden Facility 17=

Sentinel was monitoring traffic, having been assigned to do so by Aelita for her website.

Somewhere in the back noise of all the traffic, with all the signals coming and going both on the interweb and along the various communications lines along the mammal's networks, a single message sounded but went relatively ignored due to it sounding mostly like static even to Sentinel…

**[Psts csthgh ckstttss Thi ststssst Of postessssts Eden Facstrrsss Threrstssss tssstes repe tssttts]**

It ignored the transmission, unable to understand it over the multitudes of traffic, and only hearing static…

It carried no known frequency signal it recognized, and it knew 'all' of the Eden Facility frequencies, so it ignored anything that wasn't human related.


	29. Drone Chapter 4

_Nature, Nurture, Heaven and Home… Sum of all and by them driven…_

_To conquer every mountain shown… but have never crossed the river…_

_Braved the forest, braved the stone… braved the icy winds and fire…_

_Yet I'm helpless by the river…_

_Angel, angel what have I done… I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire…_

_I've conquered country, crown and throne… Why can't I cross this river?_

Sable and the Humbling River = Pt 2

'_You can't just let them starve; the people are suffering!'_

'_Let them eat cake…'_

'_If you attack those people who are just trying to find a new home, you'll be no better than those… 'barbarians' you claim them to be!'_

'_This is in the interests of maintaining the balance of gallic power in the region! I am acting in the service of 'Rome' and her allies!'_

'_You'd betray your own countrymen and what they are fighting for, what your soldiers died for you believing in?'_

'_We all know the war goes badly for the Americans in the south, I for one believe the British will be victorious and I'd like to be on the winning side…'_

'_How much courage does it take to slaughter so many in a land that is already struggling to survive? If you do this, you'll destroy 'everything' you hold dear!'_

'_It takes less courage to criticize the decisions of others than to stand by your own!'_

'_They are only rumors, they aren't proof, you can't do this!'_

'_I will end the lives of a thousand to ensure the loyalty of a hundred thousand if that is what it takes!'_

(Sable's PoV)

His eyes snapped open as he woke up from his dreams for the eighth morning, of his 'eight' days that he was given by Taelia to redeem and change who he is for the better. He breathed heavily as he saw his breakfast sitting beside him, another square metal plate with a simple square spoon filled with some kind of paste-like slop the winged human thing called 'food'. He shook his head to wake up and sat up to eat, knowing he had little time. He still had one more key to get before he could unlock the final door, and confront his past self.

"**Well aren't we enjoying ourselves here?"** A snarky voice called out as he looked and saw Taelia walking toward him, smirking as he ate.

"I know I don't have much time; I'm eating as fast as I can." He told her quietly.

"**Good to know."** She said as she walked over to stand by the river. **"So… penny for your thoughts?"**

"Penny?" He asked quietly.

"**Tis a saying luv, a tiny amount of currency for your thoughts."** She said while looking at the door on the other side. **"Feel like sharing your thoughts with me? If not, then I'll just sit quietly over here and wait for you to get going."**

He sighed as he took another bite. "I'm wondering… how does Jeremy… how is he so… like himself?" He asked her. "I've seen so much suffering, so much death… how can 'anymammal'… 'ANYMAMMAL' grow up to be like him in those times?"

"**Well first of all he didn't grow up in those times, so that's a bonus."** She chuckled. **"Second… he's a human, they adapt to their surroundings, they make the best with what they've got."**

She turned toward him with a smile as she lifted a finger to show him a glittering Flutterbug sitting on her hand, gently waving its wings in the air.

"**Such a beautiful… pretty… little thing isn't it?"** She asked. **"So gentle… so frail… so full of life… so full of hope, and yet… it can be just as easily crushed. It's a 'wonder' how someone like he is the way he is… given where he grew up and what it was like."** She smiled and flicked her hand away to watch it flutter away. **"You have one more door to unlock and your time is running out… I'd get moving if I were you."**

With that she vanished from sight, and he took her hint and got up as well and approached the door. He glanced at the other doors, wondering… just 'who' was the last human that could possibly be worse than all the others he met and 'rescued'. First was that Emperor Ling fellow, then after him came some French Queen called Marie Antionette who was so ignorant of the peasants suffering, that she lived in a fantasy world.

After her was a truly ambitious individual called Julius Caesar who overthrew his own government, all starting with the massacre of a tribe migrating to a new home. He then had to rescue a general who was going to sell out his own countrymen and people for 'money', who were fighting for their freedom, a man called Benedict Arnold. After Benedict came Attila the Hun, who got the clever nickname 'The Scourge of God', who singlehandedly held the civilized world in fear in his time, and he had to 'redeem him' by convincing him to avoid going to war against a weakened and fractured Empire.

Then of course, there was yesterday, Ivan the Terrible of Russia, a man so fearing of rumors of a city in his empire planning to defect to another country, executed over a hundred people 'daily' to prevent it.

So much suffering and death… so much destruction and loss, for over a week he's had to witness so many atrocities of humanity, and those were only the 'six' worst examples of humankind. As he stared into the next door and looked at the keys he had collected thus far, using Ivan's key to turn the new one, he wondered… who could be worse than Ivan the Terrible?

As he opened the door all he saw was this blazing red, black and white symbol as he stepped forward, into the screams and cries of agony… and into the world of his 'next' rescue.

Instantly his eyes blinked, and he had to close them from the flashing colors, but when he opened them again, he found himself not in the forest but…

"Thirty seconds Yanks, God be with you!" Somemammal shouted behind him as the sea rocked and rattled a narrow steel boat that he and a dozen other humans were standing in, all wearing 'military' outfits and armed with more 'modern' firearms than what he was used to seeing among humans.

He looked around to see not only was he and his group of humans in a tiny steel boat but there were more just like it, each with two massive hooks affixed to heavy cables tucked into steel tubes. The sky above was a dark grey cloudy scene, filled with the smell of smoke and ash, and this sense of foreboding as his and every other boat made their way to a narrow beach overlooked by a tall rocky plateau.

"Hey Braeburn, you look like you're gonna puke." A human in front of him joked to a guy next to him, who did indeed look like he wasn't well.

"Y'know what, Donnie… why don't you just gfh…-" He said before he held his stomach and released the contents of his stomach onto the floor of the cramped boat.

"Egh…" He muttered as he grimaced.

"You okay man?" A human beside him said and they patted his shoulder.

He turned around to see alongside the concerning face of a dark-skinned human, Taelia sitting on the side of the boat with her legs hanging over the edge and smirking at him. She placed a finger to her lips and waved 'hello'.

"Y… yea I'm fine…" He muttered, this not being the first time the humans reacted to him as if he were their own.

He was wondering why they weren't reacting to a mammal when they were all humans.

"Dog Company, listen up! Men on the beaches are counting on us to take out the coastal guns on those cliffs! Move fast, get topside, and get the job done!" A man in the middle of their boat called while pointing at the rocky cliff they were heading for.

"Coastal guns… what… what is going…" He managed to whisper before suddenly flashes of light appeared the sound of bullets whizzing past and hitting metal sounded.

Within seconds he saw two men struck dead in their helmets and collapse to the ground with spurts of blood erupting from the wounds.

"GET DOOOOWN!"

"INCOMIIIIIIIING!" Their driver shouted frantically as they tried to stay on course amid bullets and now explosions.

He panicked and cowered as he tried to find cover in their boat, but there was 'none' to be had aside from the humans in front or behind him, who tried leaning to the side or against the flat front.

"Holy crap, this iiiiiit!" Braeburn, the man from before shouted in fear.

"FIRING ROCKETS!"

-Peeeeeeeeewst-

-Peeeeeeeeewst-

The rockets on either side flew after being launched toward the rocky cliff, leaving massive smoke trails that forced him to inhale the smoke 'and' the explosions of water erupting around him as they neared the beach. Once they jolted and hit the sand the front of the boat flopped open exposing metal spikes embedded into the sand and tiny explosions from bullets hitting and other explosions going off. A whistle sounded and every human surged forward.

"GO GO GOOOO!" Someone screamed and he ran forward, seeking safety in the group as he got off the boat, but not before…

-BOOOOMtsnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng-

He was flung forward as a massive explosion erupted behind him, launching him forward to land back against the sand with his ears ringing from the sound. Everything became slightly hazy and almost slowed down to a degree, as he looked around at the scene of what could only be some kind of 'hell' brought to life. Along the beach other boats landed and launched their humans who were rushing toward the cliff, being shot at the entire time.

Humans ran forward, screaming and being killed in hails of bullets and explosions. One human who had been caught in one such explosion like his boat suffered leapt out engulfed in flame, trying vainly to put it out by rolling into the water, and for his trouble was 'shot' a dozen times. Another human limped out… as if like a zombie, his weapon limply held onto before he fell forward… dead, before the bullets finished him off.

'_Why… why would they 'do' this?'_ He thought vainly, wondering why humans would do this to themselves?

Then he felt himself being shaken slightly and looked to see another soldier with a red cross symbol on his helmet looking around and at him saying, "Hang on man, you're ganna be fine, you're ganna be just fine!"

He then started dragging him by his shoulders and pulled away from the waters, and he saw another pair making the same trip, one carrying another on his back. But moments later they were shot clean through by a hail of bullets, and dropped to the ground.

Everything was driving him to panic, he just didn't understand what was going on, what was this 'hell' that he was in and why was it so necessary that he had to endure it. The other doors did something similar, made him see the suffering, the problems happening, and whatever the setting was for the person it was that he had to save.

But how does this help make him understand who it is he had to save… why… what… 'where'…

The man eventually leaned him against a large boulder and said something about going to help the other men off the beach, and rushed off while his ears and eyes recovered from the shock of the explosionenabling him to hear again. What he heard was… in one word, 'hell'.

"Machine Gun MG 42, TOP OF THE CLIFF!"

-Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeew TNG-

"Get to cover, get off the beach!"

"MEDIC, MEDIIIIIIIIC!"

"Aaaaahg aahaaaaaaaaa."

-Pinngeeeeeeeeeeeeeew tsts-

-Rattaatatata Rtattatta-

"Climb the ropes, GET TO COVER!"

"Grenaaaaade watch out for grenaaaades!"

"I'm hiiitaaaaaaaah."

-Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew-

"GET UP THOSE CLIFFS, OR YOU'LL DIE DOWN HERE!"

"Charlie Fox Abel-"

That was when Taelia walked over in her dress and with her smug expression, looking very out of place amid the explosions and bullets, the screams of dying humans sounding nearby and around her.

"Where am I?" He half yelled as he flinched as a bullet struck his hiding spot, but he was still safe.

"**Welcome to Pointe Du Hoc, one of multiple places along the beaches of Normandy France in which the allies of the world are launching a massive invasion force against Nazi Occupied Europe."** She said with a smile, even as a boat off in the distance exploded before it could deliver its payload of soldiers. **"This is just one of several vital locations, lovely isn't it?"**

She turned and looked out at the sea where off in the distance he could see massive battleships.

"**Over a hundred and sixty thousand soldiers are a part of this invasion force, invading this location… and before the day's end over four thousand will be dead, with another nine thousand wounded… or missing. So much death and destruction in just this one day… and there will be even more to come, and there was far more before today."** She said to him while sitting on the rock he cowered behind, as if feeling tired and unaware of the setting around her. **"It's World War Two… it lasted about six years, between 1939 and 1945, and would see the sum death count of over eighty-five million people die over the course of it."**

"Why am I here?" He screamed in fear as a massive explosion landed beside him.

She glanced at him with a smile, a wry smile... **"Oh, would you prefer a more… 'peaceful' setting?"** She asked as she snapped her fingers, and in a blink of an eye, more specifically when he blinked, he was now in the middle of a burned down, damaged city.

Around him people struggled through the remains, some looked covered in ash and bearing scars and burns. Others looked like they wore rags, and some looked like they were starving. A wooden cart rolled on carrying dead, adding more as it passed by.

"**Yes, this is much nicer isn't it?"** She said gleefully as he looked around. **"Ah… I love the smell of burned bodies and destroyed livelihoods in the morning."**

He looked forlornly at the humans, at their lost homes, knowing he hadn't left the time period, they were still in this World War 2, still seeing suffering, misery, agony… everything related to war. He'd seen suffering before, seen death, seen pain and everything like this but for some reason this just felt even worse.

"Why is this happening?" He asked.

Taelia smiled sadly as she stepped forward and beckoned him to follow.

"**It is the way of the world, of humanity… when differences arise… conflict emerges… when the troubles of some erupt, they seek revenge or redemption. When conflict grows too extreme some seek to end it, but the only way to end it is with 'more' violence, which creates the cycle of hate… and in the end only massive suffering on all sides ends it…"**

"Then why…"

"**Even I don't understand why humans commit such atrocities… but it is what it is…"** She replied. **"This is London by the way… thousands lost their lives in the bombings, so much that people lived in the sewers… on the train tracks… lived in basements… suffered hunger… but you know the song and dance."**

He looked around at the misery, before he looked at her furiously and yelled, "Stop showing me this despair and just show me who I have to save so I can stop it!"

She looked at him with a grin and poked a finger in her ear as if to clean it out. **"I'm sorry I must not have heard you, did you say, 'show me more of this despair so I can understand 'why' this war is happening in the first place', well if you insist~!"**

And snapped her finger again, and as he blinked, he was now walking with a column of soldiers like from the beach, on a dirt pathway as they walked through a forested area. There was silence as they marched, and he stared before them as they looked at a… camp of some kind. It had wired fences and strong poles with barbed wires at the top.

He saw a few humans in… what only could be described as 'rags', striped rags that barely qualified as clothes. Many were bony, some bald… and every pair of eyes he saw had this almost 'dead', desperate… hopeless look in their eyes. He also noticed there were only 'women' in this camp.

"Open it up…"

"Get back, get back!" A soldier yelled.

It took the group he was in a moment, but they broke the gate blocking entry into the camp and swung it open. They slowly all made their way into the camp, and when he passed into the camp, he saw ditches on the side, filled with more bodies… dead bodies. The few living humans he could see… were so ragged and 'dead' their skin had turned pale, and their skin clutched at their shrunken muscles, a sign of atrophy and their bodies eating their own muscles to survive. The stench coming was unbelievable, and it took everything he had to avoid puking.

"Oh… no…" He whispered hoarsely as he saw in front of him…

Row after row of ram shackled, low built cabins where more humans slowly stepped out, approaching the solders.

All of the humans were in even worse state then the ones he saw initially, their clothes 'barely' hanging onto them, some had blackened portions of their bodies, indicating they had been beaten regularly. Young and middle-aged girls were among the most prominently seen, slowly trudging toward their group… all looking 'dead' on their feet. Their hair was non-existent in some cases, some had brands burned onto them, a few clothes had these yellow stars on them… and the sight of so many dying humans just pushed him to tears.

"What happened… why is this…" He muttered as soldiers helped these women, offering what food or drink they had on them.

Moans and cries that broke his heart in pieces.

"What kind of camp is this?" A soldier near him asked one of the prisoners, as one of his fellows translated.

"Quel genre de camp eeest-ce?"

"C'est un… camp de travail… pour les indesirables…"

"Eeeh something about a work camp for… I can't figure out the last word, but it sounds like 'undesirable'."

"Ask her what happened here?"

"Que s'est-il passe ici…"

"Les guars ont été alertés ce matin et sont partis, et ils ont brûlé certaines des huttes alors que les prisonniers y étaient encore…"

"Said… guards had left this morning… probably alerted by us sir." He said while translating. "Burned some of the huts down… while prisoners were still in them."

"They burned them alive…" Sable asked, aghast that 'anymammal' would do that to sick, dying, unarmed humans who couldn't fight back.

"Ils ont tiré sur quiconque essayait de les arrêter ... mais ils ont manqué de balles pour le reste d'entre nous et nous ont laissés mourir ..." The poor broken woman cried.

"They shot anyone sir who tried to fight back… but they ran out of ammo and left them to die."

He looked around in 'sadness' as he stared at all of the suffering, starving humans, left in such a desperate state… until he saw Taelia walking off into the distance, and he walked after her, knowing she was guiding him through this hell so he could understand. She stopped just outside of a hut and looked at a tiny body lying in the dirt. It was a little girl's, her body burned beyond recognition, Taelia looking at her with a sad look on her face, no trace of snark or laughter at the tragedy around her.

"Who are these people?" He begged, hoping for 'some' justification for why they were being treated this way.

"**Really want to know?"** She whispered, to which he nodded. **"Artists… painters… singers… actors… writers… musicians… doctors… tailors, clerks, farmers, electricians, waiters… normal everyday ordinary 'people'… who's only crime was that they were… Jews, Gypsys, Polish… nothing more."** She covered what 'would' have been the girl's eyes and breathed deeply, before looking at him and smiling sadly. **"She would have been 'seven' years old tomorrow, Sable… does she deserve this?"**

He looked down at the body and began sobbing, crying uncontrollably as he pictured a mammal being that young, being that innocent, yet 'slaughtered' like this for no just reason. This was even 'worse' discrimination than predator versus prey that he was used to. These were all 'humans', they all were the same, but even THEY treated each other like this, even 'worse' it seemed.

"No…" He moaned. "She didn't…"

Taelia smiled as she got up with him and patted his back, walking him away from the scene.

"Who… who do I have to save to stop all of this?" He begged her, wondering what kind of 'human' would do this.

She smiled at that and once again snapped her fingers, and upon his eyes blinking he found himself staring out from a balcony at a huge cheering crowd, banners flying with that symbol he saw entering, proud birds upon them all as they screamed and chanted. Beside him he saw a man with a thin mustache wearing a military uniform giving a fiery speech beside him, speaking animatedly to the crowd before him.

"Sieg Heeeeeil!" He finished proudly.

"Sieg Heil!" The crowd cheered.

"Sieg Heil!" They cheered again.

"**That… is who you have to save…"** She whispered with a chuckle. **"His name… Adolf, Hitler… leader of Nazi Germany… man who is responsible for one of 'dozens' of Concentration camps that you just saw to exterminate the Jewish population and all undesirable. The man who plunged the world into a war, resulting in the loss of over eighty million people… possibly 'the' most hated man in the world…"**

"**And 'you'… have to save him."** She giggled.

"How… how… can I save a man who is responsible for all of that!?" He muttered.

"**How about I help you…"** She muttered, and flashed his eyes with her and they were on a field riddled with corpses and holding a rifle.

In front of him a man was getting up wearily wearing a military uniform, and he was pointing his weapon at this man. As he got up, he realized who it was… a 'younger' Adolf Hitler.

"**It's world war one, and this is one of 'two' points in history that you can use to change the course of history… that is Adolf Hitler… not the dictator but the simple 'soldier' Hitler in the German army."** She whispered eagerly. **"In his time there was a British soldier who had this chance to kill Hitler before he became the dictator and monster, he is in the future… now you have the same chance."**

He looked at Hitler as he stared at him, with a dead look in his eyes, as if he had accepted his fate, knowing he was going to get shot and simply waiting for it to happen. One pull of the trigger, one bullet, one simple motion and he could leave… he 'technically' would save him, not his life, but saved his reputation. He wouldn't become that monster, commit those atrocities… he'd change history, save so many lives… but…

He wasn't that man, he didn't become that man… he was just a soldier, another face, not the leader, not a monster of that world he just left.

"**What are you waiting for… do it, do it… kill him… kill him, one bullet and you'll save 'eighty million lives', you'll stop the deaths, the torture… the suffering of countless lives!"** She said to him. **"Do it… kill him… it doesn't matter what you do, it's already happened, but you can still save SO MANY LIVES… FIRE!"**

He looked at Hitler, looked at the gun, looked at the man, and then the barrel… and slowly lowered it. Hitler didn't nod, didn't thank him, didn't react in any other way besides turning around and slowly walking away.

"I can't do it… I can't do it…" He muttered. "He's not the monster… yet… he's innocent… he hasn't done anything!"

"**British soldier couldn't do it either… you have nobody to blame… it's a question that not many have the right answer to."** She said warmly, patting his back. **"You not killing him at this point in his life does not make you a savior or a killer… it only makes you… 'human'. Come… I will take you to a time where you 'can' save him, the second point in time where you can save him, and alter the course of history."**

He breathed deeply and closed his eyes, and upon opening them he was in a city, a non-burned down city, and he looked to see Taelia standing with him, and looking around with a smile.

"**Here we are… and take a look over there."** She whispered, and pointed as a man across the street.

He was wearing simple civilian clothing, a much younger Adolf Hitler, looking more like a young man… peddling what looked like 'art' to passersby and having little success. As he failed to sell his art, he looked downtrodden and trudged on, trying again to anyone who would even speak to him.

"**Hitler the starving artist… directionless, aimless, trying to 'survive'…"** She whispered. **"Can you save a man who has no path in life, from walking the path that leads to so much death?"**

He didn't listen to her and just walked on, wanting to speak to him knowing everything he knew. He had helped six others before him, and he was going to save this human no matter what it took, no matter what he had to say… to stop all those people in the future from suffering even if it didn't matter in the end.

He followed him for a bit until the man just dumped his painting into the trash, and slowly walked into a tavern. He fished the painting out and looked at it, not finding it impressive but, still thinking that it looked like a good painting. He found slipped into his pocket some money, no doubt from Taelia, and followed the man he was following into the bar.

He found Hitler at the bar, taking a drink and looking at a poster that read saying how the army was looking for recruits, and knew that this was the 'moment' that Taelia spoke of, the defining moment which would change his fate, and redeem his 'humanity'.

He walked over and sat next to him and placed the money he'd found in front of him.

He looked at it before looking at Sable with a confused look on his face. "What is this for?"

He smiled and showed him the painting, "It's proper to pay the artist for a painting you intend to keep isn't it?" He replied warmly. "You draw quite well, much better than people realize."

He looked at his painting before sighing and taking the money in gratitude. "Thank you very much sir."

He chose his next words carefully because he had to in order to convince him to avoid going to the army. "So, what are you thinking?"

"The war…" He said. "My country is in need of soldiers, brave men willing to help us gain victory."

"Soldiers that aren't you though…"

"But I could be… and they are paying well... better than what I'm making… which isn't much."

"But what will it cost them?" He asked as he noticed a paper listing the death tolls. "How many other 'artists'… musicians… thinkers… good people are going to die because of this war?"

"I'm just one man, there'll be others!" He replied as he took a swig of his drink.

"But you'll lose who you are… your country will lose the artist you are now." He replied as he held up the painting again and looked at him. "People at home, away from the front line, they'll miss the artists, the musicians… everything that makes life 'beautiful'." He put it down and sighed. "If you lose that, all you'll have is 'war'… soldiers… talk of death, of horror… who will brighten those soldier's lives when they come home, who will give them a taste of home when things look bad for them? Nobody… because people like you will leave to join the war, and all the artist in them will be lost… because they had to be replaced by a soldier."

Hitler looked at the advertisement before looking at his painting and took another swig of his drink, and then got up and left a tip before going to walk out.

"Where are you going now?" He asked.

"To draw more art, to brighten up my homeland!" Before looking back and grinning at him. "So those soldiers who return victorious, will have something to return home to that will brighten their day!"

He smiled and toasted him as he left, before the whole world went black.

He woke up wearily and found himself staring at Taelia, who was smiling proudly at him.

"**Well done…"** She whispered to him, as a key lay before him. **"You have saved the one man, so many humans would gladly have shot in the face without hesitation if given the chance. Adolf Hitler… in your timeline, did not join the army, and even though Germany would lose the war, his art would become known throughout the country that gave his people a small glimmer of hope to cling to, and he became famous overseas for his works, and rich as well. The troubles of the nation would grow, but thanks to artist Adolf Hitler, Germany would in time become a country of the arts. He would earn a commission as one of Germany's lead artisans and eventually used his fortune to fund construction efforts to rebuild his homeland's damaged infrastructure. And as for what happens 'after'… well, that's a story that I don't know 'yet'."**

She smiled and stepped aside as his door now stood alone, waiting for him.

"**You have just enough time to finish your door… you have redeemed the seven worst of humanity, restoring their humanity in the process. Now Sable… redeem yourself."**

With that she vanished, and he unlocked the door, and stepped through it.

He closed his eyes as he did and heard the sounds of talking and laughing, and 'singing'. He opened his eyes to find himself at the Moulin Hoofton, and Aelita, the singing AI that aided the human had 'just' finished singing to the audience. Looking around he saw himself glaring contemptuously at the human Jeremy while Gazelle introduced him to her girlfriends, and they giggled at his expense as they seemed quite attracted to him.

Gulping he stepped over before his other self could walk over and begin talking to Jeremy.

"Quite the mammal, isn't he?" He said quietly, pretending to have knowledge about Jeremy or talked about him with another guest.

"Hmpf, as if." His past self said bitterly as the drinks were starting to be handed out, and Gazelle's friends walked away, leaving Jeremy alone to converse with the others. "He's just a pathetic predator, does 'nothing' himself and gets all the credit for other's work."

A waiter walked over, and he took a drink with himself.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's just some wannabe hero. What I want to know is how he knows Gazelle so well that she invited him to 'my' private premier party!"

"She saved his life." He muttered quietly, looking at the human as he nervously talked to a skunk and several other mammals. "Without her, he probably would be dead. It's thanks to her that he's been able to adjust as he is to Zootopia."

"And how would you know that?" His past-self demanded, almost disbelieving.

"I was told by Gazelle in passing…" He replied as a waiter offered him a glass of cold water and refused, even refusing the wines offered.

"What is what we offer not good enough for the 'human'?" Past Sable scoffed as he took a drink.

"He can't drink cold beverages; he's got a disease that can kill him if he comes into contact with anything cold." He explained, knowing all about his disease.

"A disease, well why isn't he being treated for it by his fancy technology if that's the case!?"

He sighed as he remembered asking those exact words, not in that phrase but something similar. "It can't be transmitted, it isn't contagious, and it has no cure. He had it the moment he was unfrozen… and he'll always have it until the day he dies. He can't drink cold water, enjoy cool baths or cold showers, simple pleasures like cool breezes, and if he even 'thinks' about going into a place like Tundra Town he risks death…"

His past-self looked thoughtful at that as he looked at the cold glass of water. "All that technology…" He muttered as they both looked at Jeremy as Gazelle now joined him, giggling as he conversed with the guests.

"And none of it can help him…" He continued.

They were silent for a bit as the party went on, Sable knowing how he thought in the past and knowing how best to talk to himself now that he knew better.

"They said in the news that his technology can cure 'every' disease known to mammalkind."

"And he risked his life to bring it to us." He explained. "When he brought that Synthorgan technology, he risked his life, by going into a very cold place to pull it out. And he even risked his life to stop that machine the police fought with… he nearly froze that day too."

Past Sable frowned as he thought about that, watching Gazelle and Jeremy converse with one another before she held his hand and walked with him toward the theatre entrance as the call went out that the movie was going to begin shortly.

"Perhaps I've misjudged him…" He muttered as he put the glass down. "I mean… he's talking to Gazelle, between you and me I've been wanting to date her for a while now."

He chuckled at that, knowing he had zero chance with her now after how he treated Jeremy.

"Just cause Gazelle talks to him and spends time with him, doesn't mean you should be jealous of him, without even knowing him." He replied.

His past-self nodded and started walking over to the pair. "Then I think I will get to know him better." He chuckled before looking back at him. "So that I have more reason to be jealous of him."

He laughed as well as he closed his eyes, and watched the scene go to black.

And opened his eyes as he stood in the forest, with the eighth key in his hand. He placed it on the ground before his door, and proceeded to place the other keys in front of the other doors, eight keys from eight souls, seven human, one mammal, all redeemed. He was told he didn't need the keys to cross, just to unlock the doors, now that he had done as needed, he needed to cross the river. Though how… he didn't know, it looked just as wide and inadvisable to cross as before. How was he to cross alone?

That was when he heard an instrument being played, and saw Taelia sitting atop a log and smiling at him**. "**_**Nature, Nurture, Heaven and Home… Sum of all and by them driven…" **_She sang. _**"To conquer every mountain shown… but have never crossed the river…"**_

He nodded and knew she was telling him that it was time, to cross the river… but still he questioned 'how'.

"_**Braved the forest, braved the stone… braved the icy winds and fire…"**_ She sang as he stepped to the river and took a deep breath. _**"Braved and beat them on my own… yet I'm helpless by the river…"**_

He looked across the river at the door to salvation, at the chubby angelic human and demonic gremlin thing, smirking as they held the sign.

"_**Angel, angel what have I done? I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire…"**_ She sang as he prepared to jump into the river. _**"I've conquered country, crown and throne… why can't I cross this river?"**_

He chose to start at the farthest point, upstream of where the waterfall started so if he was pushed down, he'd have more room to recover, then jumped into the stream. He floundered and struggled as before, and tried desperately to make headway, but the water pushed and shoved him down.

"_**Pay no mind to the battle you've won… it'll take a lot more than rage and muscle…"**_ She sang as something grabbed his hand, preventing him from going further down the river.

He looked and saw… Emperor Ling holding him while Marie Antionette held 'his' hand, and along the bank Julius Caesar, Benedict Arnold, Atilla the Hun, Ivan the Fourth, Adolf Hitler, and even himself stood by ready to help, all of them smiling confidently.

"_**Open your heart and hands my son… or you'll never make it over the river…"**_ Taelia sang as he nodded in understanding, and started swimming over, knowing that those he rescued were helping him cross now. _**"It'll take a lot more than words and guns… A whole lot more than riches and muscle… the hands of the many must join as one…"**_

"And together we'll cross the river!" Emperor Ling shouted as Caesar gripped Marie's hand, while they swam forward, ensuring they didn't swim further down the riverbank.

"It'll take a lot more than words and guns…" Marie called as she kept her grip.

"A whole lot more than riches and muscle…" Caesar declared as he joined them in the water, while Benedict did the same.

"The hands of the many must join as one!" Benedict screamed as Attila did for them what the others did before.

"And together we'll cross the river!" Attilla screamed proudly.

"_**Nature, nurture heaven and home…"**_ Taelia sang on the side of the river they were leaving behind.

"It'll take a lot more than words and guns…" Ivan yelled.

"_**Sum of all and by them driven…"**_

"A whole lot more than riches and muscle!" Hitler defiantly shouted as he kept them from slipping down to the waterfall, holding onto a tree as Past Sable helped him.

"_**To conquer every mountain shown…"**_

"The hands of the many must join as one…" Past-Sable screamed as he now was the anchor and the rest slowly, but surely, reached the other side of the river.

"AND TOGETHER WE'LL CROSS THE RIVER!" He shouted as he dragged himself to the other side, and now started pulling those who helped him cross up to the other side of the riverbank.

"_**Braved the forest, braved the stone…"**_ Taelia sang.

"_It'll take a lot more than words and guns." _A chorus of their voices sang in the distance while he helped pull the others up.

"_**Braved the icy winds and fire…"**_

"_A whole lot more than riches and muscle…"_

"_**Braved and beat them on my own…"**_

"_The hands of the many must join as one…"_

"_**AND TOGETHER WE'LL CROSS THE RIVER…"**_

As he pulled himself up onto the bank of the river, he looked at those he'd helped, and those he'd redeemed. Emperor Ling, saving his people from his despotic lackadaisical rule. Marie Antionette, opening her eyes to the true plight and reality of her husband's subjects. Julius Caesar, stopping his personal desire for glory from committing war and massacres in the name of a corrupted government. Benedict Arnold, who was planning to betray his countrymen and fellow rebels for 'money'. Attila the Hun, who would have led to war his people against a fractured and broken empire, slaughtering millions and driving them into the dark ages. Ivan the Terrible, who slaughtered hundreds to maintain loyalty based on 'rumors'. Hitler, an artist turned dictator and who slaughtered and massacred those who were different.

And finally, himself, ignorant of others, concerned with only himself…

"Thank you…" He told them.

They nodded to him and turned to leave, walking through the door to 'freedom', as Taelia sat on a log beside him, appearing as if by magic.

"So that's how I was going to cross?" He asked her, and she nodded.

"**When you help others… they help you."** She replied warmly. **"Jeremy was trained to save every life possible, even at the cost of his own. Because when you act in your self-interests, you fall prey to the very things that befell these individuals… and 'you'."**

She chuckled as she gathered the keys into her hand, and they all vanished.

"**No longer are you ignorant of the world, no longer do you care about yourself, no longer are you interested only in your own vanity… no longer are you a threat to Jeremy."** She said proudly. **"I will inform Sentinel to remove you as a potential threat to Humanity… you need not fear the drones anymore bothering you. Go now Sable… live life as you wish now, enlightened… and better than you were before."**

He prepared to walk through the door before he smiled and turned to Taelia. "Before I go… I think I know what I'm going to do 'first'." He told her.

"**Oh… do tell."** She chuckled.

"I think I'm going to write a book, about the Final War… no, a 'MOVIE'… followed by a book!" He exclaimed. "So that all mammals know what it was truly like for Jeremy, so that 'all' can understand what life was like… so that they can learn, so they understand… and so that we don't make the same mistakes 'they' made!"

Taelia smiled and clapped her hands. **"I look forward to it luv."** She said as he walked through the door at long last.

He had 'redeemed' himself, and earned his freedom.

"**As Aelita… I can't wait to see what you will do… as Taelia though, I 'know' what you can do…"** Her voice declared proudly in his head as all went to black.

He woke up wearily and found himself lying in his bed, the boards on his window ripped down and sunlight shining on him in his bed. He groaned and grabbed his phone from the counter and had to plug it in so he could check the date and time.

He was surprised that it was 'precisely', nine days after he'd agreed to go with Taelia. He checked his finances and saw that he didn't have a lot left… and knowing his acting career was up the creak after everything, and had no hope of recovery at this point, he sighed and posted on 'Twerter' that first… he was sorry for all he did wrong to Jeremy.

Second, he was hanging up his acting career, and sent a text to his agent that he should find another actor.

And third, he ensured what money he had would last him long enough so that he could write his book, publish it with his own money, and sell it around the world, and use what was left to finance his movie.

The next days passed, and he saw one morning while he was thinking of how best to write his book and go about making his movie, knowing he had to talk to Jeremy but not sure how to talk to him, when he checked Twerter and saw the hottest trend being the hashtag 'JeremyXGazelle'. Curious, he looked at it and smiled, as he saw that Gazelle and Jeremy were now officially a couple, with her announcing it the day 'after' her birthday.

He couldn't think of a more perfect pair, as he smiled and joined the throngs of twerter users wishing them well, going nuts, drawing fanart of the two of them, sending video messages, animated images, and going crazy that Jeremy the las human was with Gazelle of Zootopia.

He sighed as he put the phone down and stared out the window, toasting his glass of warm water to the human. "You better take care of her Jeremy, or else I'll be even 'more' jealous of you!" He chuckled.

Drone Shorts – Ema and Pod Alpha 1000

(Eden Facility 17, Three Days before the Ironic War)

(Ema's PoV)

**[I've run through every possible scenario Doctor Liona that my AI can formulate, and I just can't guarantee the safety of the offspring in Patient Emily Fitzgerald surviving the Cryofreeze process!]**

"I'm not asking for a guarantee, I'm asking if the offspring will survive any better in their mother than they would if we extracted them and then put them in an artificial womb!" Liona shouted back.

**[The odds are the same Liona, at best they'll survive the process, at worst the chances of the cryogenic crystals that will plague their fluids on the inside will puncture and kill the embryotic cells 'before' they are thawed!]** Ema declared dully. **[The artificial womb you could 'theoretically' construct for the cells would be substandard compared to those in Eden Facility 4, and the Ema 'there' is working with even less than I have here! That is to say if you had the time to develop one, which we don't, the Cryologists have all been chosen and they will be put into Cryogenic sleep tomorrow, we have no time!]**

"We can still remove the embryo cells before she goes in and…"

"Doctor…" Emily muttered from the biobed, getting both of their attention in the dimly lit medical bay. "I'm taking my chances… my children stay with me."

"Emily… you're the only woman to have become pregnant within Eden Facility 17 in the past 'two' decades… we can't just take the risk of you surviving and your children not, we have to pursue every option before…" Liona whispered to her before the patient yelled back.

"I'VE MADE MY CHOICE!" Emily screamed. "They stay with me… the odds are the same either way…" She then held her still flat stomach with her arms and smiled happily. "Even with our medical science, we still know that the fluids in a woman's womb contain protective properties that we still don't fully understand even after all this time, designed to protect the offspring. Maybe it will keep my children safe during the cryofreeze…"

"Emily… think rationally… we can't just…"

**[Doctor Liona, according to medical protocol 305 Beta, the patient carries the right to accept or deny any medical procedure or treatment upon their body as they see fit to have done to them.]** Ema declared automatically. **[If patient Emily Fitzgerald does not want the offspring to be separated from her, then we cannot perform the operation.]**

"And of course, you won't let me even if I want to." Liona complained bitterly. "Fine Emily, but please reconsider 'before' you wake up tomorrow… this is our last chance to save those children of yours in case something bad happens to you."

Emily smiled as she got up and walked out of the medical bay.

"I have a bad feeling Ema, like I just sent her and her children to their deaths." Liona muttered as she held herself.

**[You humans are a mystery to me, how you can have these 'sensations' you speak of without me being able to detect them is something I'll never understand.]** Ema said dully as she walked over to examine her patients still in the medical bay.

=Time Skip, Present Day, Hours 'after' Celios is Chained=

**[Pod Alpha 1000, yes, I know about that one, Emily Fitzgerald… pregnant with triplets, put into cryogenic sleep approximately thirteen days after becoming pregnant. The offspring would have been in the second stage of their development.]** She declared as Jeremy finished examining the medical database for the seed's information. **[Why do you want to know about her?]**

"Ema… if she had been awoken in the same state that I had, being thawed improperly and thus resulting in her gaining the disease Cryogenic Sclerosis, what are the odds of her children surviving?"

She looked into his eyes and ran the simulation in her AI, after a while she had an answer.

**[Can't tell you, but if they had survived the transition from being frozen to being thawed, it would be 'very' slim that they would have survived. The cryogenic crystals that were in your body became genetically embedded into your body's blood veins, making the Permafrost just as much a part of your body as any other part.]** She replied honestly. **[However, if they 'did' survive the transition… I don't know if they would have survived her Cryogenic Sclerosis. If she went through the disease as you did, suffering a sudden burst of cold… the embryotic cells would be at risk until they reached the eighth week of pregnancy. If she could avoid suffering until then… they'd be safe.]**

She could see the look of forlorn on his face, but she couldn't save his hope, she had to tell him the truth, as required by medical protocols.

**[That is 'if' they survived Jeremy… we have 'zero' medical records of any woman being frozen cryogenically in the first, or any stage of pregnancy, to tell if the offspring would have made it. The chances are equal of surviving the procedure, as they are of dying.]**

"I see…" He replied sadly as he, Judy, Nick and Gazelle slowly made their way out.

Then she turned to her medical screen once the door closed, and brought up the memory of her conversation with Liona about Emily Fitzgerald, the day before she and Jeremy and the others were frozen. The knowledge that Aelita had killed Emily to save Jeremy, telling her that the doctor she so often clashed with had the right idea.

**[Well… looks like you were right Liona… if you had taken those egg cells and put them in an artificial womb, even a substandard one, they 'would' have had a better chance of survival.]** She said dully. **[How do you humans just 'know' when something bad is going to happen… I wish I could answer that, would make my job better.]**

She lifted a leg and tenderly placed it on Liona's face, as if she wanted to comfort the human.

**[If only I didn't follow medical protocol that one time… the one time where if I had broken the rules…]**

With that she turned off the screen and returned to her work.

Drone Short – Meet the Spiders

On a viewscreen a Goliath Class Spider Drone stomped into view to stare at the crowd.

**[Hi there!]** It said in a cheerful tone. **[This unit is identified as TY-4, but my classification is a General Purpose Goliath Class Spider Drone. This unit is one of 'hundreds' of Spider class drones, that's why when one of our designs is listed, we are referred to as a 'Spider Drone' instead of something else.]**

It listened to a random question the crowd asked.

**[What does this unit do, well that's simple, we do 'everything' asked of us, but our primary purpose as GPG Class Spider Drones is to act as supplementary emergency response drones, much like how we acted in the big fire that ravaged parts of Sahara Square!]**

**[Yes, and you caused quite the damage upon being dropped in… didn't you.]** A snide voice called out as another Spider walked onto the scene, a spider with a massive abdomen, thin legs, and a distinct black metallic composition.

**[It's the Emergency Medical Augmenter Black Widow Spider Drone, welcome, how may this unit assist you?]**

**[By shutting up for one.]** Ema said as she turned to the audience. **[Much like how the Goliath Drones only use a simple category 3 AI, I use a more preferable category '4' AI.]**

**[This unit doesn't communicate in terminology using certain pronouns like I, Me, and My, because that infers that we are individualistic, when we aren't.]** TY-4 declared.

**[Whereas 'I' can because I was built with a specific personality programmed into my AI, allowing me to refer to myself in those terms.]** Ema stated. **[I'm designed to be a medical augment to Eden Facility's medical staff. However due to unforeseen circumstances, I, also known as EMA Alpha, now act as the sole medical staff full time while also working around the clock to treat all known mammal disease.]**

**[But we're not the only spider drones!]** TY-4 said as other spider drones now appeared. **[One of the earliest spider drones, was the General Cleaning Purpose Jumping Spider Drone…]**

A spider with suction cups on the end of its legs and sporting an enormous liquid filled abdomen trudged up to them.

**[Its design was to clean solar panels at the top of skyscrapers! Then came medical advances for the Spider Drone lines…]**

A spider with thick legs and just as thick abdomen stepped forward and showed off syringe needles imbedded into its frame.

**[Like the Tarantula Medical Class Spider Drone, which saw civilian service and military service, but was discontinued after several years.]**

**[On account of its 'inferior' memory capacity and ability to transport various chemicals in a stable state while moving at high speeds.]** Ema muttered.

**[This unit saw more field work than you did!]** The Tarantula declared.

**[And was shot the most because of it.]** Ema countered. **[My job is in the lab; I can't risk my chemicals being shot unless absolutely necessary!]**

**[We even had spiders who were built for construction, like the Funnel Web Construction Class Spider Drone!]**

A spider sporting smaller legs but a bulging torso, head and abdomen stepped forward and waved.

**[Our design was the most versatile, and the creator species built tons of us to suit the needs of the species…] **They all looked around before TY-4 screamed, **[But if Jeremy dies then what will happen to our design, is he going to make anymore?]**

**[Dunno… but until then… I have work to do…]** Ema declared as she walked off screen.


	30. Chapter 26

_Oh, the snow it melts the soonest, when the winds begin to sing…_

_And the swallow skims, without a thought as long as it is spring…_

_But when spring goes and winter grows, my larpen you'd be fain…_

_With all your pride fought to follow me, where it calls a stormy main… _

Chapter 26 – Frozen Reality

(Aelita's PoV)

She sat in the word of cyberspace, viewing a thousand windows to the world around her, each holding a hundred other windows so she could examine and look out upon the world with her eyes and ears to hear and see all that she wished. However, she focused on one particular window as floated in cyberspace, watching the latest broadcast of a news station.

The topic, what else but the word of Jeremy from Eden Facility 17, last of humanity, officially going out with Gazelle of Zootopia.

"_And continuing the latest hot topic of last week, still on fire and still raging through the internet is none other than Zootopia's own, Gazelle, nicknamed 'Angel with Horns' the number 1 pop idol and famous singer, dancer, and model telling the world in a Twert that she is officially going out with none other than last of his species, human Jeremy Wilheart, who has been given the also iconic nickname, Angel without Fur!" _A Polar Bear host said as a picture of Jeremy and Gazelle was shown with the highlight, 'Angels Engaged?'

She smirked at that phrase, knowing that with all of her work pushing them together they might as well be engaged at this point.

"_While the news has been the gossip of the year, many mammals around the world have been showing the idol's Twerter feed with congratulations and messages. We're going to play a few clips now for you, take a look…"_

She leaned back and put her arms behind her head while expanding the window so she could view the messages, despite already having seen most of them.

"_We're the Hou Family from Quingban province, and we wish Jeremy and Gazelle a happy life together~!"_ A family of Pandas said in cutsey voices as they waved at the camera. _"Gazelle is our favorite singer, we get her albums every time they release, and we have heard so much about Jeremy and his species. We're so happy Jeremy found somemammal he likes, best wishes!"_

"_I'm Koslov from Zootopia, and I want to just say thank you Jeremy for what he's given to everymammal around the world."_ The Polar Bear who worked for Mr. Big, her 'friend', said with a teary smile. _"My son recently was diagnosed with a sudden case of throat cancer, but thanks to the vaccines and cures Jeremy's home produces, my son was in and out and cancer 'free' in just under an hour! And hearing him in a relationship with Gazelle of all mammals, I can't think of anymammal more 'perfect', and I can't think of a better male for somemammal as wonderful as her!"_

"_I'm Phillius from Lakeisland City, and I want to wish Gazelle and Jeremy a wonderful, happy life."_ A Panther said through a teary smile. _"My little baby girl was born premature with a defective heart, and would have 'died' within twelve hours. But a medical helicopter arrived just in time carrying one of the Human's 'Synthorgans'. Even though she was so small, it perfectly changed to fit her body and saved her life. My little baby would have died without the human technology, and all I can say is thank you Jeremy and Humans, and I hope you have a beautiful life with Gazelle."_

She smiled at those messages, seeing the good Jeremy has done, seeing all of her plans bearing fruit and all her efforts leading to the results she wanted. Now that Jeremy and Gazelle were together and that he was on the path to happiness, she could begin to guide the world to her 'ideal future' that she was created to do.

"_Yes, so much positive and popular support for these two, as it was not long that this news agency and others out there were calling Jeremy to be 'put down', and considering him to be a threat to mammals in Zootopia. Despite this support for Jeremy and Gazelle being together however, some mammals don't approve of the two getting together."_

At that she sat up straight and paid close attention to what they were saying.

"_On Twerter some mammals are calling out Gazelle and telling her she is just using Jeremy's fame and popularity to her own advantage. Others are telling her she's betraying her own species by being with the human. The hate doesn't end there sadly, as other mammals have posted angry threats on Twerter, calling for Jeremy to be 'put down', because in their words, 'he is a dangerous threat and he's disguising his real intentions with all this technology he's using'. In the music industry another singer, Antella-Lopei, called out Gazelle saying 'Gazelle is using Jeremy to boost her fame, talk about abuse of an endangered species and a kindhearted mammal like Jeremy. She's just using him for the whole 'Angel' image she has going on. He's too good for the likes of her!', to which Gazelle fired back hours later, saying 'This from the singer who broke up with her boyfriend, just to release a 'break up album' days later? You are right about one thing, he is too good for me, but he still chose 'me'."_

She chuckled at that response, Gazelle 'has' been extremely defensive regarding Jeremy, no doubt a trait inherited from her ancestors whom even Lions didn't mess with often.

"_In other news, with Gazelle declaring she and Jeremy are going out, we now know who it was that has been sheltering the human, as Gazelle revealed in a phone interview that she has indeed been sheltering Jeremy since he first was offered it. The singer said 'he was trying so hard at first to try and repay me for my kindness, and all our kindness we gave him and the help we offered. As time went on, we got closer and closer, and now here we are, and I've never been happier in my life. I'm incredibly lucky that Jeremy cares so much about me and I him, and I'm so happy that I offered him my home so he didn't have to live inside that cold base he called home for 'decades' of his life."_

"_When asked about the facility, she described it as the coldest place to live, not in temperature but in feeling; despite the comforts it offered, the technical marvels it had, and above all the drones that serve and protect not only Jeremy but the facility, it is 'cold' to live there. She spent a night in the facility to see what it was like, and while she felt 'safe' and 'secure' in the facility, she didn't feel 'comfortable', not nearly as comfortable as in her own home. In Gazelle's words, 'The food is automated, bland, dull, and lacking any taste or 'love' that even the poorest mother might put in their children's food. The bathroom, while a technical marvel, is small and minimalistic, with shower and toilet sharing the same space. You cannot even enjoy a water bath because it is considered 'wasteful'. The drones control how much food is given to 'any' individual and ensure with cold calculating efficiency that nomamaml exceeds what they need to 'live', as when asked if one could have seconds, they do not even respond. Jeremy and I were each given the bare minimum, as despite being in a time where food is no longer a problem, the facility still operates as though we were in Jeremy's time, where humans starved, were sick in the street, fighting each other for scraps, and living hand to mouth with no hope for the future. The fact Jeremy grew up in these conditions his entire life, not knowing what a warm home cooked meal tasted like, being able to enjoy a warm shower, smell the morning air or listen to the sound of rain tapping the glass while sleeping in, feeling the sun on his face or fall asleep under a tree while enjoying a picnic… is something I cannot fathom or imagine doing my entire life.' Truly fascinating stuff."_

Aelita nodded in agreement, but alas she could do nothing for the food dispensary, as that was controlled by Sentinel. Only a human could alter its programming, so until Jeremy changed it, the facility would offer 'standard nutritional supplements'.

"_In other news, Gazelle's Limo is up for auction, as the famous pop idol says, she no longer needs it. Paparazzi managed to catch a glimpse of why, as Jeremy's Solar Carriage now resides outside Gazelle's home. Though not how it looked 'before' as photo evidence reveals it to have received some 'upgrades'."_

She giggled as they showed an image of the carriage 'before' when it was wandering the streets, and 'after' Jeremy decided to just have HORSE and the carriage stay on Gazelle's property since word had spread about them. The carriage had been extended by about six feet so as to offer additional space, and widened to accommodate the new onboard 'comforts' she installed. It now boasted a built-in table with better seating so those inside could enjoy food on the go, as well as built in hologames based on Gazelle's backup dancer's favorite time wasters. It also provided a private seating section for him and Gazelle should they want it for 'private time' with each other. The front seating now offered holographic controls to direct HORSE, so that her backup dancers could still drive them from place to place. Also because of the upgrades, it was now heavier and thus Jeremy had to build another HORSE drone to help pull the carriage.

She figured since it was now being asked to do more for him and Gazelle, she might as well upgrade it, though it took all her concentration to get the job done in under twelve hours. She also included a few more 'protective features', as a safety precaution.

"_While seeing the two in public is a rare occurrence, passersby have been able to catch the couple in question. Yesterday phone users caught the two enjoying a leisurely stroll down Parkfall Street as Gazelle was showing him around Zootopia."_

She grinned as she saw the photo taken had Gazelle smiling and waving hi to her fans while Jeremy looked shy and nervous about being seen in public. Put him in his facility fixing drones, and working on various pieces of technology from his base, he's in his comfort zone. Put said human in public on a date with his girlfriend, and he's absolutely adorable when caught on camera.

"_Absolutely adorable, from ZNN we send our best wishes to the two love doves, and hope wonderful things happen to the two of them."_ The news anchor said with a smile before their face became more serious. _"In other news, the ongoing legal battle for the various vaccines and cures by pharmaceutical companies is now moving to an upper court, with the lower courts having ruled against the companies, citing 'these end products were made using research from an ancient civilization that, according to mammal law, far exceeds the time period and has been in the 'public domain' for centuries.' Furthermore, in the medical drone's words, 'Ema' had this to say…"_

_**[For the last time I don't care who asks, but I cannot and will not violate the programming hardwired into me by the United Earth Medical Institution regarding the vaccines and cures.]**_ An image of Ema's face on screen said while her voice was played on speakers. _**[Under the United Earth Medical Institution, no medical treatment created using research associated with the UEMI is to be bartered with, sold, auctioned, or otherwise used for personal profit, personal gain or personal welfare at the expense, whether physical or mental, of the health of the general populace! Even if I could violate this rule, which I 'cannot', Jeremy Wilheart has ordered me to create and distribute these items 'freely' to the general populace, in exchange for the raw materials to 'create' said items. Under Protocol six hundred and fifty-nine alpha of the HPP, as a drone I cannot disregard an order or request given to me by a human. Under protocol six hundred and fifty-seven alpha, a drone must fulfill any request or order given to them by a human to the best of their ability if the request or order is within the scope of their programming and body's primary design function. And FINALLY, under protocol five hundred and twenty-three alpha, any order or request given by a human above the age of seventeen is to be acknowledged and regarded as such and only disregarded if a human of higher rank or age states otherwise to the drone. Now 'stop' interrupting me, I am BUSY!]**_

"_The medical drone had nothing else to say after that. Lawyers on both sides are gearing up to fight for the cures and vaccines in court. While the public opinion is overwhelmingly in favor of the vaccines and cures remaining 'free' to the public, government officials have been mostly silent. Mayor Lioness of Zootopia was quoted saying, 'They can throw all the money and lawyers they want; I'm keeping my promise with Jeremy and his promise to me. The cures and vaccines remain 'free'.' In other news, hospitals are now reporting that the first shipments of 'Artificial Organs' have been received, each of these carefully crafted organs have been developed in Eden Facility 17 as replacement organs for those in need, the construction of which was designed by none other than Jeremy Wilheart. While this is a major milestone in ending the need to ask for organ donors, due to how 'low tech' they are compared with the far superior 'Synthorgans' that were extracted days before Lioness' announcement about the cures and vaccines, these artificial organs can only function for the mammal intended to receive them. This is still however a medical milestone, as scientists are now studying their construction to help speed up their creation for mammals in need. On the topic of Synthorgans, the extremely limited supply of the medical miracles, of which only a hundred total were extracted, only twenty-three now remain, and are being carefully monitored so that only those in 'desperate' need receive them. When asked 'why' can't Jeremy simply get more of them, Mayor Lioness said, 'He came very close to dying for good the last time he risked his life to bring them, I will not risk his life again just so we can have a few more of those organs'."_

"_We'll have more on the topic of Synthorgans and what makes them special compared to the Artificial Organs being received now, and of course organ transplant methods done in the past later. From ZNN I'm Velvet Veleur."_

With that she tuned out and returned to her website, focusing her efforts and smiling while doing so on sharing knowledge of humanity to those who wanted to learn, and wanting to learn they indeed did. She'd added a 'visions of the past' page and was constantly updating it with information from the Eden Facility database, and of course her own recollections. Scientists most frequented the section, looking at the nature documentaries and biological studies done by her creators in the past. Her website alone now gained more traffic than any other site on its own, and even combined the two largest could only 'equal' it.

She smiled as she twirled her fingers and brought her website before her, and uploaded her next page featuring the wildlife and landscape of the African continent. At the same time, she also showed off the relationship the sheep had with her creators by showing the various species of sheep around the world. She showed a video of Shropshire Black-Faced sheep swarming a little boy and cuddling him while he was laughing at them, and now was featuring a Dorset breed of sheep being sheered by a humble farmer in the countryside.

She closed her eyes and watched the number of visitors going to the new pages explode within minutes. With that done she returned to her holosphere and looked around Gazelle's empty living room. It was going to be a while before they returned, she might as well keep herself busy.

(Jeremy's & Gazelle's PoV)

He sat in the 'private' seating area meant for him and Gazelle next to her, while in the more spacious seating area Donny, Franky, Moe and Joe were all enjoying the new digs they had since Gazelle no longer used her limo. Today they weren't actually driving the carriage, and simply letting HORSE 1 and HORSE 2, the newest drone constructed by Jeremy for the purpose of helping pull his Solar Carriage from location to location.

However, while they were busy having fun playing their video games in the carriage and drinking some soft-drink beverages on the holo-viewers, he and Gazelle were sitting in the carriage's private section making out.

Gazelle was leaning on him while he leaned against the corner of their seating area with her arms wrapped around his neck and just kissing him lovingly, while he had his hands clasped together on her back and holding her close to him.

After a few seconds she separated from him, a gentle smile on both of their faces before she giggled and just went right back in for another round.

"Mhmmm…" She cooed as she kissed him, feeling that warm bubbly feeling in her heart that only comes when sharing a special moment with the one she loved.

He too felt that feeling, a strange 'calm' happiness as he held Gazelle close to him. Outside they could hear muffled beeps as cars honked as they passed, some mammals cheering at them as their carriage made its way to their next destination that day. But inside, all he needed to concern himself with was the beautiful antelope he had to himself.

After a few minutes she pulled away again, but smirked and gave him one more peck on his lips before sighing contently as she lay on him, taking in his calming scent and just letting her happiness at being with him run free and wild. A week, a whole wonderful week has passed since that beautiful moment where she and Jeremy consummated their relationship, and she officially told the world 'back off, he's mine'. In that one week, she has not left his side unless it was for work, annoying as it was, and Jeremy had to go to his base to work on projects.

He recently started working on 'artificial organs' with Ema, using what he knew medically and learning some major details regarding mammal organs, to help craft them with the drone. She was able to watch him working in the medical bay with Ema, where she helped with any flaws or issues with his design, and inside a special chamber ANT drones were carefully, meticulously crafting the organs in real time.

The ANT drones were the only ones outside of Ema who could actually build them, since they were the only ones with 'tools' delicate enough to fashion the organs on such a precise scale.

"So, we went shopping and got new clothes, got something to eat, visited the hospital to help cheer up those young mammals who recently recovered from cancer thanks to the latest cures developed by Ema, and now we're going to watch a movie… I think this has been a pretty successful day so far." She said softly to him.

"Yea…" He said as he shifted his gaze away from her.

Gazelle knew something was bothering him as she looked up and saw the discomfort on his face. "What's wrong Jeremy, aren't you happy with us?"

"No, no I am… I really am!" He quickly said.

"Well what's wrong, why don't you look happy?"

"It's just… I keep thinking I'm not doing anything…" He muttered quietly. "Like a part of me keeps saying this isn't what I need to do…"

She frowned slightly but understood what he was 'actually' saying. He was trained to help repair damage to the world, damage no longer there. He was also raised to help those he could, and above all focus on the 'greater good'. It was his subconscious trying to keep him on track, and not be sidetracked by her. He wanted to be happy, and she could feel that he 'was' happy, but his training was still holding him back.

"Jeremy, you've spent the last few days working on those artificial organs." She said softly to him. "Mr. Big announced that the first 'Green Tech' Car is in the works; the cures and vaccines are now being shipped all over the world… you have been saving so many lives and helping so many since you woke up."

She then smiled and shared another kiss with him, one he returned only after a second's hesitation. Kiss given she pulled away and smiled at him.

"You need to rest, relax, and enjoy life Jeremy. There's nothing wrong with having some time to yourself… I've been waiting for today all week because I get to spend all of it with you."

He breathed a sigh of relief as she told him that, he knew it was his mind trying to tell him he should be doing 'more' to help mammals, since unlike Gazelle he was not 'working' like every other mammal was. Still he wanted to be useful, he wanted to help, to use his technology for good… but as Gazelle said, take some time to live his life.

"Thanks Gazelle."

"Don't thank me just yet lover boy." She giggled before she resumed kissing him more 'seductively'. "Just wait until later… when I've got you in my bed all to myself and all alone…"

"Well… you have me now and all to yourself… and we're 'kind of' alone…" He replied sheepishly. "Minus the bed portion…"

She was a little surprised at his boldness, but grinned slyly as he did have a point.

"Mmmmhmm… then what am I waiting for?" She whispered seductively, before leaning forward and pressing herself against him to kiss more passionately than before.

Unfortunately, their make out session had to end because the HORSE drones declared over the intercom, **[Destination reached… these units have arrived 'on schedule'!]**

She lingered on his lips a bit more before she giggled and sat up straight, straightening her clothes as she did. "Drones, always interrupting us." She snickered.

"Sorry, I figured we might have had more time." He replied in embarrassment.

"Oh, we will… 'later'." She whispered to him, with a wink and roll of her shoulders. "There's something I want to… 'try' later~."

"Uh… 'try'…?"

She only smirked and winked as the door opened and she stepped out, followed by him. They exited out of the carriage and onto a parking lot sidewalk which bordered a movie theatre. What made this movie theatre special, according to Gazelle, was that it offered in-theatre dining so patrons can watch the movies while enjoying meals. It wasn't 'fancy' by any stretch of the word, but it was certainly large, no doubt to accommodate larger mammals like Giraffes and Elephants.

"Return here when you detect us here again, understand?" He ordered the two drones.

**[We hear and obey, Unit Jeremy!]** HORSE-2 declared.

"Alright so our movie starts in ten minutes, your drones sure know how to time their arrivals." Donny muttered as the two HORSE drones started walking off with the carriage so it could rest somewhere separate from all the other vehicles.

"Yea… HORSEs did their best." He muttered.

"Well let's get going." Gazelle said cheerfully as she led the way.

They walked into the main lobby where mammals were making seating reservations and ordering their dinners. However, the moment 'they' appeared all eyes were on them, and within seconds mammals were rushing to say hello to them.

"Oh, sweetness look, it's Gazelle and Jeremy!" Some mammal shouted, getting 'every' mammal's attention.

There were so many that Gazelle's backup dancers had to quickly get in front and act as her bodyguards so they could have space.

"Back up, come on relax!" Donny yelled as Gazelle smiled and waved hello while phones snapped pictures of them while walking with a nervous and shy Jeremy to get to the ticket booth.

"Come on mammals, let them through, they're trying to see a movie like all of us!" Franky called as he kept several mammals back.

"Uh… hi… hi everyone?" He nervously said while waving at the bystanders.

"Jeremy do you frequent this theatre?"

"Jeremy what movie do you intend to see?"

"Gazelle have you and Jeremy been dating for long?"

"Can I get your autographs!"

Gazelle just chuckled as she ordered their tickets and requested, they be waited at their table. After paying for their tickets she and Jeremy, while Donny and his brothers now being aided by theatre security all carved a path for them to the theatre, walked to the door and into a pretty empty movie seating area.

There were several mammals sitting there, including a rhino family, a few giraffes, and even a large table which was holding very tiny tables for small mammals like mice and shrew who were watching chefs cook their food in front of them. There were also some wolves, a couple sheep, a few polar bears, a pair of jaguars and even a pair of deer. When he and Gazelle entered there were quite a few mammals who eagerly waved, and some started taking pictures of them while he and Gazelle simply waved back.

Though he noticed out of the corner of his eyes that the Jaguars weren't looking at him nearly as favorably as the other mammals, something Gazelle and her friends failed to see. He pushed it off to the side however, he was confident that there would be no trouble here, since it was a movie theatre after all. They sat down at their table and a few minutes later a waiter took their orders and then left.

"So, what movie are we watching ma'am?" Franky asked.

"The movie they have premiering here tonight is something called 'AP-EX'."

"Sounds like it's going to be good!" Moe said.

They waited for several minutes while various ads rolled, including an ad for 'ancient tape', which got Jeremy to chuckle since it was the 'duct tape' that mammal scientists quickly reverse engineered. It was good to see that Duct Tape would be used again, and funny seeing a porcupine in overalls showing it off while winking. Then at long last the movie started playing.

'_It was the dawning of a new century, Mammalkind was reaching toward the stars… we believed we were masters of all, thinking we had surpassed our ancestors tribal, archaic, animalistic instincts… But the one thing we never surpassed, never outgrew… like the forest of trees we were, was the 'tallest' tree on our planet…'_

'_Ancient Predator - Earth Xeno'_

"Oooh, this sounds good…" Moe whispered as they all settled in for the movie."

The movie began with scientists locating a unique and unknown element trapped beneath the southern polar ice cap, drilling for it and attempting to find out what this 'strange substance' was that registered as a potential new element to add to the element table.

'_I've never seen anything like this Professor Pom."_ A female wolf scientist said, _'The element, just based on what I'm seeing from preliminary finds, going off the trace amounts found in the ice near the surface, the element is 'extremely' dense on a molecular level.'_

'_Can you imagine the things we can build if we were to understand how to recreate it?'_ The professor, a male porcupine asked. _'Think about it… hulls capable of withstanding intense pressure, we could create massive crafts capable of exploring the deepest depths of the sea. Or construct shuttles capable of 'long term space travel', we could be on the breakthrough to develop our first 'space crafts'.'_

'_Well we won't know what it looks like until we find the source of the elements.'_

Several minutes later they watched as the scientists finally reached the 'element source' they had been talking about, only the source turned out to be a massive 'spherical shell', that upon discovering resisted their every attempt to drill into or extract due to its sheer size. Jeremy thought that was fairly similar to how they tried to break into the Eden Facility, only the facility was much larger, and didn't look like a giant egg which he recognized instantly.

'_It's so dense we broke six drills just trying to scoop a 'piece' of it out!'_ The female wolf scientist said tiredly. _'If this keeps up, we'll have to let the military handle it, and you know what that means, they'll just use our discovery for tanks, planes, and whatever else they have planned!'_

'_We may have to get their assistance; they have the funding we don't have… maybe I can pull some strings and split it fifty/fifty with them…'_

'_Chief… chief! The element has a crack in it!'_ Some mammal called over a radio.

'_Did you finally break it open to get a decent enough chunk?'_

'_No, it's just got a crack now… it suddenly cracked when we were installing a new drill!'_

Their food arrived and while they continued to watch the movie, with the scientists discovering that the crack formed from the 'inside', after they investigated and discovered that it was hollow. While he and Gazelle shared a cooked potato with spices and wildgrass sauce, the tiger brothers were enjoying some kind of bird meat drumsticks. They finished their meal when the movie reached a point where the scientists discovered there was 'something' inside of it.

This 'something', turned out to be an extremely small creature that looked like a lizard from Jeremy's memories of pre-final war earth. It walked on four legs and had very thin layer of scales, with whiskers on its nose and an elongated tail. The scientists tried keeping it a secret to study, but the military came in and ruined it by taking the creature with force.

That was when they learned of its 'unique' capabilities.

'_Agh the little bastard 'bit me'!'_ A Rhino screamed as he clung to the creature. _'Ripped a chunk in my arm out!'_

'_Kreeeeeee, kreeeeee!'_ It screamed while struggling to get away.

'_Stop it you're hurting it!'_ The wolf scientist pleaded.

'_I'm going to do more if it doesn't…'_

After it ate a tiny piece of the Rhino's arm, its body started to grow by only a fraction of what it was before, but it's outer scales suddenly grew and hardened, becoming rougher and harder than its previous scales had been. On its nose a horn grew and sharpened to a fine point similar to the rhino's.

After that discovery they tried to force the creature into a series of tests, to learn more about it, to learn 'why' it was capable of that and what else it could do. Eventually they discovered that, by 'feeding' on anything it could adapt itself to using the traits of what it consumed to augment itself and make itself 'stronger', larger, faster, and better than what it was before.

Then they started doing 'training' tests to see if it was intelligent, and sure enough it passed most intelligent tests with flying colors, yet it did not speak a word or any kind of language they attempted to train it to use. It wasn't until the female wolf scientist was able to be alone with its cage that she found out 'why' it couldn't communicate with them.

'_I honestly wish we could talk… if for no other reason than so I can apologize for everything happening to you.'_ She said sadly as it stared at her, now twice her size, with an elongated neck, sharp serrated claws on its feet, spiked tail and even fur lined hide mixed with powerful scales.

It hissed contently as she managed to pet its forehead, her being the only one who could get close to it and her being the one who administered all of the tests. Then its eyes snapped open as it flicked its tongue onto its own scaled body, wounding its own tongue and sending a single droplet into her throat by accident when she gasped in shock. The moment its blood came into contact with her mouth, she saw flashes of images in her mind, visions of this creature's life cycle, from its infancy to enormous adulthood. Its sheer size dwarfed many buildings, it's powerful body comprised of the 'best' traits belonging to any prey it found, fully matured it was unstoppable, even capable of affecting weather with the numerous changes brought on by its rapid evolution. She learned 'everything' about it… including something she never had the chance to convey before it was too late.

As the movie progressed, Jeremy found himself, less and less enjoying the movie for what it was, and finding far too much commonality with the creature as he watched it now fight for its survival. When the military learned of how dangerous it was, they tried to kill it, but it fought back and ate their weapons, and its body adapted the firearms it consumed to create its own biological weapons and munitions. Soon it broke out and went on a dangerous rampage, consuming those who were in its path as it ran amuck.

The scientist who had learned so much about it tried desperately to keep it protected, but now it was too big to avoid being seen, and the military went all out in killing the creature. In the final showdown, it was hit by multiple air to surface missiles, punching through its now incredibly hard armor, and striking at its severely weakened internal organs. As she cuddled its head, crying sadly for it, the creature only whimpered as it stared with one eye. It protected her using the last of its strength as soldiers fired at it from every direction, knowing it was going to die and wanting the one creature it considered a 'mother' to be kept from harm. As its heartbeat gave out, it shared a second, and last drop of its blood with her, so that she could learn more about it, before its heart stopped beating.

'_It's over, that monster can't hurt anymammal anymore.'_ The general of the army, a Wolf said proudly as he stood before it's corpse.

'_It wasn't a monster…'_ She whimpered sadly as she cried over it. _'It was only a 'baby'… it was scared for its life…'_

'_A baby that nearly destroyed half the city, and killed hundreds of mammals in its rampage!'_

'_Because we 'rushed' its development'…'_ She whispered coldly before glaring at him. _'We 'forced' it to evolve… it's metabolism is the slowest on record… it eats 'one' thing, and then it doesn't need to eat again for a 'DECADE'… in those decades, it learns… it grows… it understands. We could have 'studied' it… it was an 'Apex Predator'… the only one of its kind… the last of its kind… and we killed it… because we were 'afraid' of it, afraid of what it could do to 'us'!'_

She returned to sobbing onto the corpse of the creature, crying as her internal monologue spoke to end the movie.

'_I learned that day from the creature's memories it imparted to me, the rules of the world, there is always an Apex Predator, there is always a food chain. The creature was the only one of its kind, and every one of its generation is born every thousand years to rule the world as the Apex Predator of the age. It would stand alone at the top, to dominate, until it was time to leave a single egg, a single offspring, and then the parent dies after it's reign was over, while the egg waited a thousand years to spawn the next Apex of the world.'_

'_We are trees who were jealous that we were not the tallest around, jealous of this infant whose abilities surpassed ours after thousands of years of evolution, while it was born the greatest of us all from birth. But it imparted to me one final message in its final moments… an Apex Predator is only an Apex so long as it stays at the top… when it loses its spot at the top, is when its species… is replaced, by the next Apex Predator… now I can only wonder… how long will it be, before 'we' are replaced… having taken this child from its throne, before it had the chance to rule?'_

As the credits rolled, he was silent as Gazelle and her friends waited for every other mammal to leave so they could have 'some' semblance of peace while leaving. A few mammals however managed to pry them for autographs, with Jeremy sheepishly replying that he didn't exactly know how to 'write' something as simple as his name. Gazelle though chuckled and signed his name in his place.

"First chance we can I'm teaching you how to write your name." She said warmly to him. "So how did you like the movie?"

"I think whoever made it doesn't realize just how accurate they were when it came to representing humans." He said quietly.

"I didn't see anything regarding humans in that mo…" Donny tried saying but he sighed as he looked away from them.

"An ancient, one of a kind species, the last of its kind capable of adapting and using the traits of it's prey as its own to the point where it could 'control the weather', known as an 'Apex Predator'?" He replied to them. "Humans are referred to as 'Apex Predators', we could gain 'armor' and 'weapons' on our bodies at will, and you know that it only takes a bit of creativity to control the weather. And obviously being the last of my kind says everything else."

He sighed as he pretty much ruined their evening by saying he didn't like the movie very much. How was he to like it, it reminded him of 'everything' his life was about, it reminded him that he was alone, that even if he died with Gazelle's arms wrapped around him surrounded by her friends and every other mammal in Zootopia… he would still die alone. There was nothing he could do to avoid his fate.

Gazelle nodded in understanding as she patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry we brought you to see this movie, I honestly didn't know what this movie was about, I figured it would be fun to watch together and show you something you might never have seen before. I hope you don't think any bad because of this."

"No, it's alright, there's nothing bad or wrong with the movie… I just… didn't like it is all." He replied.

"At least the special effects looked nice!" Moe said with a halfhearted laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"Eh, better than the plot at least." Joe said in agreement.

"Thaaaaat's where I have to say the movie suffered." Jeremy declared as they finally started to get up. "First of all, why waste so many drills trying to extract 'fragments' of whatever that egg was made of, after the first two failed they would have tried another method. Second if they examined it using 'any' scientific methods, they would have known that the material was 'organic' in nature. If it was something that dense and powerful in its raw form, they would have found a 'vein' of it embedded in rock and not a massive egg of it trapped in ice."

There was silence among them before Gazelle, Donny, Franky, Moe and Joe all burst out laughing at his response to the movie's 'failings'.

"We'll tell the director to keep that in mind with the next movie!" She laughed loudly.

As they walked into the mostly empty lobby, seeing it was now dark outside and most mammals had probably gone home by now, he saw the Rhino family from before waiting in the lobby. When he and Gazelle with her friends entered the lobby, the father of the family nervously walked over to them.

"Uhm… if it's okay can I have a word with Jeremy?" He asked quietly.

"Sure." He said, nodding to Gazelle who walked away with her friends so that he and the Rhino Father could be alone for a bit. "Can I help you sir?"

"I just want to say… I'm sorry for how I treated you before…" He said quietly, but when Jeremy looked confused, he nervously pulled out a police badge to show him. "I was… the officer who… aimed a shotgun at you… all those months ago."

"Oh… I see." He muttered as he understood why the Rhino was looking nervous toward him. "It's alright officer… you were just doing your…"

"No, it's not alright…" He declared bitterly. "If I had known who you were back then, if I had just… done what Gazelle said an officer was supposed to do… instead of just aiming a 'shotgun' at your face and yelling at you. I should be dismissed in disgrace for what I nearly did to you…" He looked away in shame at those words. "I almost 'killed' you… if Gazelle didn't save you… I would have killed you. Thanks to what you did, when my little brother's wife gave birth prematurely to twins, one with a defective liver… she would have lost her child if not for your Synthorgans… if I had killed you back then, he would have…"

He started crying at that for several seconds, until Jeremy walked over and patted his shoulder.

"What's your name officer?"

"Tyber… Officer Tyber Lug…"

"Well Tyber… you acted like a real officer; you shouldn't be ashamed." He replied politely. "If you hadn't acted like that, then you wouldn't have acted in everyone's best interests."

"But how I…"

"You had no idea what I was, who I was… where I came from… for all you know I might have been a mass serial killer, an evil scientist, some criminal… and if you didn't treat me as a threat, a lot of innocent mammals might have been harmed because of your inaction." He told him warmly. "I don't blame you or think badly of you for being protective of the public, especially when you had no idea who or what I was. You were only doing your job, and you can't be blamed for doing that."

"As far as I'm concerned, I forgive you. I don't cast any blame against you…"

After a few moments the Rhino breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in acceptance. "Thank you, Mr. Wilheart."

After that Gazelle walked over and hugged Jeremy while smiling at the officer. "I heard what was said, and I'm with Jeremy officer. I don't cast any blame or think badly of you for doing what you thought was right at the time." She said cheerfully, but winked and kissed him on the cheek. "Buuut now that he's my boyfriend, I expect an apology!"

"I apologize for threatening you with a firearm Mr. Wilheart." He laughed.

After that he met his family, and laughed at the kids wanting to know so much about him and Gazelle such as how they met and where she got the necklace she wore now.

"You want to see something beautiful?" She asked the little rhinos with a smile.

"Yea!" They yelled eagerly.

She smiled and touched the button on her necklace, and showed them the wings covering the solar core fragment revealed the beautiful miniature sun she wore happily around her neck. Ever since she received it for her birthday, she has worn that necklace 'everywhere', not taking it off unless she was at home and going to bed with Jeremy. While she kept the little fragment concealed beneath the wings, she could always feel its warmth through any outfit she wore. It was a constant reminder of Jeremy, reminding her that he was always there to warm 'her' heart and brighten her days.

"Wooooow!" They said in amazement.

After they entertained the young one's curiosity for a bit more, they finally all started leaving, with Tyber and his family going to their car and them waiting for the solar carriage. Outside the entrance to the theatre while they were waiting, he saw a group of four jaguars idling around talking to each other. However, when they appeared, they all started staring at him with dislike.

Gazelle noticed this too, as she quietly wrapped her arm around his and tentatively pulled him closer to her and away from them.

"Look at that it's Gazelle with her 'endangered species' boyfriend…" One of the Jaguars called out.

"Aww isn't that precious, she's acting more 'male' than he is!"

"Jeremy where's the carriage?" She whispered while her friends started growling and getting in front of them, just in case.

"It's coming, I can see the HORSE drones approaching." He told her nervously, looking the other way and seeing the two drone's optics shining blue while dragging his carriage behind them.

"Once it arrives, we hop in and leave." She told them quietly.

"Awww what's the matter, afraid we're ganna hurt your little boyfriend?" They taunted.

"Why don't you losers do the smart thing and just get lost." Donny growled menacingly.

"Why should we, why should we listen to a mammal who tolerates that 'thing'?" Another Jaguar growled. "A dangerous thing like 'him' should be put down!"

"You wanna say that again buster?" Franky roared while cracking his knuckles.

"Alright if you want me to." They growled again. "A dangerous 'thing' like 'him', should be 'put down'!"

Franky growled and was moving toward the jaguar group when his brothers held him back. "Come on bro, just leave it, he's not worth it." Joe muttered.

"Too bad 'he's' not worth it!"

Right after one of the Jaguars said that they threw a rock which hit Jeremy around the eye, causing him to flinch in pain and Gazelle's friends to roar and charge them in fury. Jeremy and Gazelle backed up as she started calling for the police while the tiger brothers were brawling with the jaguars. They were biting and clawing at each other even when the carriage finally reached their position and the HORSE drones just stood by waiting.

Seconds later a car drove up and the rhino officer from before jumped out.

"Alright break it up, BREAK IT UP!" He roared while putting his badge on and charging into the brawl even as the theatre security ran out to help stop the fighting.

"Grrraaaaar!" One of the Jaguars roared as he gave Donny a punch to his face, pulled a hidden knife out of his pants pocket and glared at him and Gazelle.

Realizing instantly what he was going to do, he shoved Gazelle to the side as the knife was thrown…

And embedded itself into his shoulder.

"Gyuaaaaaaaaaa…" He screamed in pain as the metal blade punctured his muscle and shifted around, causing even 'more' damage.

"JEREMY!" Gazelle screamed in horror.

**[ALERT, ALERT, HUMAN IN DANGER, HUMAN PROTECTION PROTOCOLS HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED!]** The two HORSE drones shouted, and the carriage doors automatically activated. **[GET IN!]**

He nodded and quickly climbed into the vehicle with Gazelle helping him. Once both were inside the doors automatically closed and locked up, with the carriage activating the 'panic mode', and all the windows sealing up in armor, the carriage jolting from the tires being retracted, and the table opening to reveal several first aid medical kits.

**[Contacting Eden Facility 17, distress beacon activated, situational report sent, Sentinel Drones en route, the EMA has been notified and is also en route… ETA: Twenty-two minutes…]**

"Jeremy, it's okay, it's okay Jeremy…" She whispered to him as he breathed heavily and starting panicking from the adrenaline rush and the pain of the knife still being in his shoulder.

"I'm… okay… okay… okay…" He panted as he controlled his breathing, just as he knew he had to regarding a stab injury. "Need to pull it out…"

As he steadied himself, he let the injured arm's hand grip Gazelle's, so it didn't cause any more damage, and then hovered with his other hand over the knife's hilt until he had braced himself. Once he did, he grunted in pain as he grabbed the knife, and swiftly pulled it out. "Gaaaaaahh…" He yelled painfully as he threw the knife to the other side of the carriage.

Gazelle quickly grabbed the first aid kid and handed him some gauze tape, as well as alcohol swabs and helped clean the wound. After a while he calmed down and helped her wrap the tape around the wound and tied it up.

Once the danger was past, he leaned heavily into the seat while Gazelle replaced the medical kit in the table, and it sealed itself up once more. Then she cuddled up with him and hugged him close to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked her quietly.

"I wasn't hurt…" She told him.

"That's good…"

She smiled warmly as she leaned in and kissed him lovingly on the lips. "Thank you for protecting me… that was very 'male' of you…" She told him.

"I just didn't want you getting hurt."

She sighed happily as she embraced him and he embraced her, rubbing his cheek with her own affectionately, telling him how happy she was with him.

"And that is just one of many reasons… why I love you, and why I'm so happy you love me…"

(Judy's PoV)

"Yaaaawn so how much longer do we have to be on patrol carrots, I want to go home already."

"Another ten minutes and we can clock out Nick." She told him tiredly as they drove around Downtown Zootopia.

"Yea, it's been a boring shift, I know, so sue me… after all the excitement guarding Jeremy and the fun times with the drone, just regular duty patrol is boring by comparison." Nick said dully.

"For once Nick I have to agree, I actually miss tagging along with Jeremy now that he and Gazelle are a thing." She told him. "Least headquarters got us new stuff."

"Oh yea, the new rubber bullets, how do they make them expand the way they do and how does it work…?" Nick muttered as he pulled out a spare magazine of the new 'rubber rounds'.

As of three days ago every police station in Zootopia was shifting over from the 'lethal' firearms they'd been using for several years now, to the new Rubber Round firearms. Eggheads in the RnD department got their paws on the chemical formula from the MUTT drone that ZPD had the 'unfortunate' encounter with several months back. The new rounds could be safely fired in any situation, without causing any harm to individuals. What they were designed to do was render any weapons useless, making it safe to approach and apprehend threats without risking anymammal's life.

To make it simple, and 'cheaper', all cops were issued a pistol themed weapon which used the rubber rounds, while SWAT used more 'rifle' themed weapons and even Sniper versions that also fired the rubber rounds. Zootopia was going to be used as a 'test case', to see how effective the new guns are with criminals and curbing crime activity and especially deaths. If it had a massive impact compared to other methods, then other cities and police departments would do the same.

"Considering its from a machine made by a human, probably have to ask Jeremy." Judy giggled as they turned down a street.

[All units we have a disturbance reported at the Downtown Cafetella Theatre, repeat a disturbance reported at the Downtown Cafetella Theatre.] Clawhauser called out over the radio.

"Two minutes from clock out time, of course it has to happen…" Nick complained as she picked up the radio.

"This is Officer Hopps responding to the disturbance, we're on our way."

[10-4 Hopps!]

She hit the headlights and sirens and started driving toward the theatre. But just as they drove onto the street leading to it, two Raptor drones and four Dog drones barreled past their car, causing them to stop suddenly to avoid crashing into them. The drones however continued on without concern, racing in the same direction.

"Oh, don't tell me that Jeremy's involved…" Judy complained as she drove after the drones.

"Yea, guy finally has a beauty like Gazelle for a girlfriend, why does he have to get in trouble not even a week later?" Nick complained.

"Are you saying I'm not beautiful?" She muttered dangerously to him.

"No, I'm not, there's no comparing you two." Nick replied quietly. "And I mean that there is 'no' comparing you two, if I compare, I'm a dead fox."

"Right answer honey…" She smirked.

They turned into the parking lot of the theatre minutes later with several other squad cars already there. Among the vehicles present was none other than Jeremy's Solar Carriage, now being pulled by two Horse drones. Surrounding the vehicle and drones were the six drones they'd just avoided crashing into. All six drones were snarling and baring their glittering, diamond tipped, razor sharp teeth at any mammal that 'dared' to approach the carriage. Off to the side several 'security guards' and ZPD officers were cuffing a bunch of burly tigers and jaguars and escorting them into a police van.

"Well, guess we have the fun job of figuring out what is going on." Nick said as she stopped far enough away from the carriage but close enough to be near the scene.

She and Nick got out and approached the officers as they loaded up the van and closed it. "What's the situation?" She asked Ted.

"Hopps, Wilde." He said with a friendly wave. "A brawl between eight predators, four tigers four jaguars. Turned vicious… according to security guards one of the jaguars pulled out a knife and threw it at Jeremy."

She was shocked and looked at the drones who were 'still' watching every mammal present and making sure they stayed far away from the carriage. "Is he alright?"

"Don't know, he and Gazelle jumped into the carriage moment he got stabbed, then it locked down and now they wont budge." He said while the van drove off.

"If Jeremy got hurt and they won't let us approach they are probably waiting on that big spider drone to arrive." Nick said.

Seconds after he spoke those words, they all heard something massive rolling toward them, and turned to see a giant metallic ball speeding toward them. One of the Raptor drones stood before it, braced itself, and then caught the ball and lifted it into the air to break its momentum, before carefully letting it rest back on the ground.

"Do I know how to call em or what?" Nick said with a smirk.

They watched as Ema unfurled herself and turned to look at the drones.

**[Status report, what is Jeremy's condition?] **Ema demanded.

**[Unit Jeremy is within the confines of Solar Carriage One; no further damage has been incurred!]**

The spider drone nodded and walked past the drones as they made space for her to step near the door to the carriage. After the carriage's defenses were deactivated the door opened and Ema poked her head inside.

**[Well at least you're not dying this time.]** She said dully, before backing up and letting the human and antelope step out.

"Thanks for showing up Ema…" He said to the drone.

"Jeremy, how are you-"

"**Hyeeeeeeeeeees…"** The Raptors hissed at her, snarling and baring their teeth menacingly.

"Stand down…" The human ordered, and as one all the drones nodded and stood back. "Sorry Judy… human protection protocols… can't control them entirely when they are like that."

"It's alright… what happened and how are you feeling?" She said as she and Nick walked over to talk to him.

He sighed as Ema undid the bandages and examined his injury. "We had just finished watching a movie with Gazelle's friends, and were waiting on my carriage to pick us up so we could leave, when some Jaguars hanging around here started taunting and making fun of me and Gazelle."

"He's telling the truth officers." Gazelle said sternly. "My friends were goaded and pulled into a brawl with those jerks after they threw a rock and hit Jeremy in the head. Then one of them pulled out a knife and threw it at us. Jeremy pushed me down so I wouldn't get hit, but he got hit in the shoulder because of it."

**[Well at least the damage isn't as bad as last time.]** Ema called out as she caused Jeremy to wince in pain as she used her limb to split his wound open, spray Biotech into it, and then cleaned the blood off to reveal no damage remaining. **[Minor laceration of the muscle but other than that, nothing permanent.]**

"That sounds bad…" A female elephant officer called out.

**[In the dark ages yes… but modern medicine… well modern by 'our' standards… it's no more dangerous than the flu after antibiotics were developed.]** The spider drone told the cop. **[Oh, and, congratulations while I'm here…]**

"Congratulations, on what?" She said in confusion.

**[For becoming pregnant obviously, don't tell me you don't visit your doctor regularly?]** She asked incredulously before she backed up. **[Mammals, I swear, your worse than humans are when it comes to visiting your medical professionals on a regular basis.]**

"Wait how do you… I mean… how?" She asked quickly before the drone could leave. "I mean… my husband and I… we… how?"

**[My eight optics are each designed with different scanners installed, they aren't 'just' to let me see.]** Ema said dully. **[One of them is designed specifically to check for early signs of pregnancy. I can detect if a female is pregnant after the first six hours of conception. It would be after the first 'three' hours… if a certain 'HUMAN' would do some maintenance on me!]** She yelled at Jeremy while turning to him. **[I know my maintenance cycle is once every six months, but I would like a check up 'before' that happens!]**

"Understood Ema, I'll take care of you tomorrow!" Jeremy said.

**[Ugh, humans… never on time with anything…]** She muttered before running and launching herself back into ball form to roll away to the facility. As she did four of the drones, namely the Dog drones, joined her and left the scene, leaving only the Raptors to guard Jeremy and Gazelle.

There was an awkward silence as the drones left, during which Tammy, who was the elephant in question, just looked shocked as she looked at her stomach. "Uhm… Mr. Jeremy, how 'accurate' is…"

"She has the complete medical knowledge and methodology including practices of my species' surgeons for over three thousand recorded years, from 'everything' in the body ranging from the brain to the toes. She's 'very' accurate." He replied. "Officer, is there any way we can talk to the police chief about letting Gazelle's friends go, they were only protecting me and Gazelle, and those Jaguars did start it."

She sighed as she thought about it before nodding, "Yea, if you want you can talk to Chief Bogo, probably will have to pay a fine, but I'll have to call in after I check some camera feeds so that we can tell him if that's how it went."

"Thank you, officers." Gazelle said as she and Jeremy climbed into the carriage.

"Before you go, anything you can tell us about the jaguars who attacked you?" Nick asked.

Jeremy paused for a second to respond. "I don't know if it means anything, but while we were in the movie theatre there were two jaguars who didn't seem fond of me while at a distance… I don't know if that helps but…"

"Anything's better than nothing." Nick said with a smile. "Come on carrots, let's go check the surveillance cameras."

"Be safe Jeremy!" Judy said as the doors closed and the carriage took off, with the Raptor drones marching off.

After they left and other officers went to write up their reports, she and Nick headed inside and spoke to the manager and managed to get permission to view the security cameras for that day.

"Alright here ya go, I'm locking up in half an hour so please be fast."

"We'll be done fast." Nick said as the manager left, and they turned to the cameras. "Okay so let's see… the last showing was about… over nearly two hours ago."

"Yep…" Judy said as she rewound the cameras recordings and slowly sped them up until they found Gazelle and Jeremy.

Sure, enough the carriage arrived two hours and twenty-seven minutes ago, and they watched them progress to within the theatre, and from there to the viewing area. Inside they saw the two 'jaguars' in question.

"Oh yea, they do not like him…" Nick muttered as he watched them closely.

She noticed it too, they glared at him and one even mouthed something along the lines of 'he doesn't belong here'. She learned a few tricks with Nick, like how to lip read since her last time when she and he examined old camera recordings.

"Then the movie goes on, and all is calm till about thirty minutes ago." She muttered as she fast forwarded.

After mammals started leaving, she and Nick watched the jaguars progress from first leaving to the main lobby, then out to the parking lot, then to their car… and out.

"Okay so it wasn't them who attacked him… as look here on camera six…" Nick muttered as he pointed at the camera, and showed a group of four jaguars lingering at the front entrance. "Rewind till we find when they arrive."

She nodded and started rewinding, and they tracked their progress as they entered the parking lot an hour ago, and lingered in their car until 'after' the movie ended. Then they waited outside the entrance for Jeremy, Gazelle and her friends to exit. Then they watched the fight as it broke out, with it starting when the jaguars threw something at Jeremy, causing him pain, and thus resulting in Gazelle's friends reacting and defending them.

"So, these four show up to a theatre but not to watch a movie, wait until the movie is ending, 'then' come out and wait until they leave the theatre to get into a fight, where one of them tries to throw a knife at Jeremy?" Nick muttered. "Call me crazy carrots, but this sounds like somemammal was trying to assassinate our human."

"Assassinate Jeremy?" She asked him. "Who would want to do that?"

"I don't know…" Nick muttered quietly. "Keep this information to ourselves carrots."

"Why, we need to inform the chief if that's the case!"

"No… think about it." He said sternly. "If I'm right than we'll be tipping somemammal off that we 'know' they're trying to knife Jeremy in the back. Somemammal was able to tell 'when' Jeremy was going to leave and be at his most vulnerable, enough to try this little stunt. Then they'll try something else, something more 'drastic' to try and get the job done…"

He then looked at her with a serious expression she'd never seen in his face before.

"On the other paw, if I'm 'wrong' then this is nothing more than a group of mammals who were watching twerter messages and they all came to try and kill him because they hate or fear humans. Remember all those 'speciest' threats to Jeremy reported on the news? There's a 'lot' of mammals out there who probably are willing to go all out to kill our human, and all it takes is some mammal innocently saying that Jeremy and Gazelle are having a movie date at this place, and bam, instant location for a hit."

She had to admit Nick was right, all it would take is one mammal eagerly twerting out that they met Gazelle and Jeremy at a theatre and the couple were having a date there, and all one would have to do is pay attention to plan a hit.

"So, what do we do?" She said, turning off the cameras and getting up.

"Just write up our reports as normal, and keep an eye out for our boy." Nick muttered.

"But Nick, 'who' would want to kill 'Jeremy', of all the mammals in the world… why would 'any' mammal want to kill Jeremy." She said in confusion.

"Pick some mammal who would be mad at him for 'any' reason, and you have a suspect." He replied while they left.

She frowned at him before she pulled out her phone and looked up at all the twerter feeds about Gazelle and Jeremy being together, all of the fanart drawn about the two of them, all the mammals saying such happy things about the two. One image showed a young rabbit waving hi in front of a farm with her family, while she clutched a handmade doll in the image of 'Jeremy'.

"After everything that's happened to him, isn't being the last of his kind enough torture?" She whispered angrily, getting into the car and starting it up.

She felt Nick pat her shoulder and saw him smiling gently at her, feeling the same way as she did.

"Don't worry, Jeremy isn't defenseless, and if we find 'anything' concrete to indicate somemammal trying to assassinate him, we'll inform Bogo instantly."

She sighed before pushing the pedal and driving out of the parking lot. "When did being a cop get so complicated?"

"Hey at least you had options, no shame in growing blueberries on your family farm!" Nick chuckled.

(Jeremy's PoV)

He lay in bed the next morning while holding a nude Gazelle in his arms, who had a look of content on her face as she slept with him. She smiled as she breathed steadily, enjoying whatever dream she was having while with him. He however was thinking about what happened last night.

After they arrived at the police department he spoke to Chief Bogo with Gazelle, and after Nick and Judy made their reports the tiger brothers were released after she paid the fine. They all apologized that they let the fight get out of paw and more importantly got aggressive when they shouldn't have. But Jeremy and Gazelle forgave them, Gazelle saying she's proud they stood up for Jeremy and him saying thanks for being willing to fight to protect them.

But still, remembering how the fight happened, knowing that if he and Gazelle ever went out again like that, and thinking it might happen again… he asked if maybe they should be more 'careful' with what they do together.

'_Do you want to bring a drone along just in case?'_ She had asked as she got in bed nude with him.

'_No… I don't want to… well, make you feel like I 'have' to have a drone…'_ He'd replied. _'It's just… I'm worried about it happening again…'_

'_Don't worry Jeremy, I don't mind having a drone follow around to make sure we're safe. If it puts your mind at ease, then I'm all for it.'_

That was yesterday, but now he wondered if he should seriously consider it.

"Mhmmm Jeremy?" Gazelle whispered as she woke up quietly.

"Yes?" He asked her.

"I know I shouldn't be asking, but… are you happy with me?" She whispered curiously.

"Of course I am why are you asking?"

"You're still wondering if maybe a drone should follow us around to keep what happened last night from happening again." She said knowingly.

He sighed as she placed a hand on his cheek and pulled him in for a kiss, then smiled warmly as she leaned against him to snuggle.

"I trust you Jeremy, just as much as I love you… if you really feel you need one of your drones to watch over us if we're in public then I'll agree to it."

He thought to himself about that, before asking her own question, "Are you happy with me Gazelle?"

"What brings that all of a sudden?" She chuckled with a smile.

"I'm just wondering because… like I said before, remove the fact that I'm a human, I'm still not exactly 'earning my keep' in your home… and I always wondered what could I possibly offer a mammal like you-"

He was interrupted when she started giggling to herself, and only stopped when he was watching her now.

"Jeremy… I'm going to tell you this, so you never have 'any' doubt of your worth or how I feel about you." She said with a proud smile. "Jeremy, the fact you are the only one of your kind, means to mammals that you the 'rarest' catch for any female. That you wanted 'me' when you could have had 'any' female… makes me the luckiest girl in the world."

She then wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lay on top of him.

"You turned away the wealth of the world to help those who can't afford to be broke, by giving away the cures and medicines to the world without any desire for money or fame." She whispered warmly. "That makes you the 'richest' male in the world, and that you had nothing to offer me, nothing but your heart, means you offered me 'everything' you had to give."

She then smiled warmly and kissed him deeply and passionately, lingering her affection on him lovingly before staring happily into his eyes.

"You could have given me a simple flower, plucked from my little garden in the back yard, or took a random flower found in the park… and given it to me, and I would have been happy with that." She said. "Instead you made my dream to touch the clouds, to fly come true… you showed me another world I never imagined I'd ever see… and you placed a beautiful star, encased in an egg, covered by wings around my neck. There is no greater gift I could have had… that any mammal out there could have given me that could hope to hold a candle and compare to what you gave me that day."

She then pressed her body against his until he felt her heart beating above his, and they both started beating in sync with the other, as if responding to one another's call.

"Your heart was cold and broken when I spoke to you in that hospital… and now that we're together…" She said with a kiss which lasted for several seconds before she spoke again. "Neither of us are alone anymore… and we'll keep each other's hearts warm now."

He looked up and kissed her back, even as she smiled into him and kissed him. Though she smirked as she suddenly felt 'why' he was so into kissing her when she pulled away.

"I see 'somemammal' is excited…" She giggled as she reached under the covers and felt his maleness at full mast. "Are you 'sure' you're a human and not another kind of species?"

"Sorry… it's just you always sleep naked with me now and…"

She shushed him with a sly grin and a finger before she whispered into his ears. "I know… that's 'why' I'm naked in bed now… just in case you 'also' want to have fun." She whispered seductively. "So, what are you waiting for… I'm ready to 'try everything' with you Jeremy…"

(Aelita's PoV)

She lay on her back in her holosphere watching the news, waiting for when Jeremy and Gazelle came down to start making breakfast.

"Ooooah… yes…ah… yes… yes… ah~!" Gazelle yelled in ecstasy. "Harder… yes… right… oahyea, yes… aah~!"

She glanced up toward their room and raised her eyebrows in amazement. This was sixth day in a row she had sex in the morning with him, and she even tempted him into have sex with her at night before bed three days in a row after Jeremy's birthday.

She rolled her eyes as she tuned out their love making session, giving them privacy while she focused on watching the news and her website.

At this point if they were married, they'd be on their honeymoon, and if they aren't careful, he'll get Gazelle pregnant.

Her eyes snapped open, and quickly ran a million calculations and probabilities, all to discover if it were 'possible' for Jeremy and Gazelle to crossbreed.

She didn't have the full medical data like Jeremy said she did, she had a large portion but not all of it. That honor belonged to the EMA BWS medical drones, so when all of her calculations came back as inconclusive due to lack of evidence, she realized the only one who could answer that question was Ema Alpha of Eden Facility 17.

She contacted the facility, but paused once again as she noticed something.

Another signal being transmitted on a similar frequency she typically used to contact Sentinel, but on a widespread band, and it was being reported by OK-101, the RAPTOR drone Jeremy left to safeguard the seed.

Instantly she sat up and put her holosphere's abilities to the limit as she scanned for the signal's location.

**(Signal Located… coordinates…)**

She input the coordinates so fast her own algorithms were having difficulty keeping up with her processing speed, they didn't even have time to say them before she was locking on and checking with the Eden Facility sensors.

The frequency was 'definitely' human, its frequency was 'modern', from the pre-final war era of humanity, during the Golden Age of Peace. And it carried a unique signature that upon inputting into the Eden Facility database, she pulled up what it was.

She stared in front of her at the holographic 'sphere'… in awe and wonder.

It was a data sphere… one of humanity's, her creator's… 'time capsules', it was sending out an automated signal after detecting the presence of the RAPTOR class drone nearby for an extended period of time.

And it was located right beneath the Hopps Family Farm in Bunny Burrows.

She rang Gazelle's phone, but groaned as the antelope had silenced it so she got no interruptions in the morning, and had no choice but to send a text and wait until the two lovers finished.

There was no time to waste, they 'had' to reach it first.

The signal had been detected by her, but it was being broadcast on a widespread band… it wouldn't take long for 'any' mammal paying attention to figure out where it was.

And her creators forbid, they figure out the signal's origins aren't mammal in nature.

(?'s PoV)

In a room which overlooked the many buildings of Zootopia a mammal sat with their back turned to the table, until a phone rang, and they picked it up to answer without turning the chair.

"They failed; I know." They said quietly. "That's what I get for bribing a bunch of idiots from Sahara Square's ghetto district."

The called asked something.

"No, my **contact** inside didn't tell me how to get him out of the picture, but I think I have another idea that might work." They said. "Keep an eye on Twerter, and let me know the next moment his carriage enters 'Tundra Town'."

They asked, 'why Tundra Town'?

"Because his disease, will be our best chance to kill him, and make it look like an 'accident'…" They muttered. "I want to get inside that facility, and the only way that happens, is if he's out of my way…"

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=From the Author=

=Hi readers/reviewers, in 2 chapters I'm going to be doing a chapter regarding a human celebration, it will be a chapter involving Jeremy celebrating a holiday which allows him to get in touch with his 'humanity', and the various cultures of humanity from around the world!=

=If any of you want to have your culture represented in some way, and I'm wanting to, I would like some details about a holiday/celebration or something special or you have pride in regarding your culture/heritage. For example, I know that Sumo Wrestlers are popular in Japan, so Jeremy might observe a pair of holographic sumo wrestlers=

=Give me some minor details in your reviews or even pm me if you want, don't go too into it, remember ima be devoting a lot of words to this chapter when I get to it. But this is going to be 'we are humans' chapter, and I want to do 'us' justice and right… Jeremy is the last of his kind, he doesn't know 'anything' about his species, and Aelita can only convey so much at one time=

=And a big shout out to AlexanderMugetsu and CelfwrDderwydd for inspiring me to make this fic, I only hope once again I've done it justice! : D =


	31. Chapter 27

_Far across the land, there I'll find my home…_

_If you'll take my hand, guide me as I roam…_

_I have walked a thousand miles, to find where I belong…_

_Searched the world and all its isles, but still I wander on…_

Chapter 27 = Through a Window in Time

(Jeremy's PoV)

"Are you sure about this?" He asked as he and Gazelle looked at the hologram Aelita was making for them. "There's a Data Sphere nearby?"

The AI nodded in her holosphere as she displayed the 'Data Sphere' for them on the table. It was roughly the size of a large ball, with two seams running along its side and an access port in the center of it. It also had an early holo-emitter embedded into the side of the frame, and the phrase 'Data Sphere 124' on it.

"What is it Jeremy, what's this 'data sphere' that Aelita is talking about?" Gazelle asked while wearing her bathrobe.

Both him and Gazelle were in robes because of Aelita's message screaming for them to get downstairs 'NOW', that she had something important to show.

"A Data Sphere, it's what you might call a 'time capsule'." He explained as Aelita confirmed what he said. "Before the Final War, during the Golden Age of Peace, nations around the world selected various cities to receive one of these spheres. I don't exactly know what for, but each data sphere at the time had a vast storage space, equivalent to a fifth of Aelita's database."

Aelita nodded as she changed her image to that of a computer core, and compared it to the data sphere, showing them to be equal.

"When each was filled, they were scattered and buried throughout the planet at hidden locations, so that when humans found them in the future, they could look up information from the past. They were also by some nations to hide secret data, using the time capsule act as a 'cover story', so that information could be recovered in the future while it was erased from all records and hidden from their enemies."

"To be honest I thought they were all lost or destroyed during the final war, finding one still intact is a miracle on its own… but to find one so close to Zootopia? Aelita is right, this is too important to just leave."

"Where is it located?" Gazelle asked excitedly, fascinated by the human technology and what it could mean for them.

"According to Aelita's findings, it's located right below the Hopps family farm." He said as Aelita showed him the location. "OK-101, the drone we left behind to guard that seed, seems to have picked up the signal thanks to its close proximity, setting off an automated signal programmed into the Data Sphere to be sent out so it could be collected."

"How can it do that if it's been underground for even longer than your base?" Gazelle asked.

"The Data Spheres had special power cells that had extremely long energy life spans, and it doesn't require as much power to send out an automated signal on the frequency it's sending right now. While small, the power cell could have kept a charge long enough to power the sphere back up even after this long of a time span." He said. "We need to recover it fast though, because the signal is detectable by not only Aelita, but any mammal capable of detecting the frequency."

"Why's that?"

"The data sphere could have 'anything' on it, any kind of data stored and kept within it's frame. It could contain anything from historical documents, cultural artifacts… even schematics of technology from the past that have been lost due to the final war, or… my biggest fears being weapon schematics."

At that Gazelle realized 'why' they had to get it fast.

Aelita got his attention and showed the datasphere had been broadcasting it's signal for '4 days', and she looked worried as the signal had indeed been detected by not 'just' the RAPTOR drone, but by the government of the nation that Zootopia resided in. She even showed on a satellite image of a government vehicle within close proximity to the Hopps family farm.

"And we need to do it fast…" Jeremy muttered quietly.

Gazelle looked at the image and looked shocked. "You don't suppose they are looking for the sphere as well?"

"What else is out there besides the drone and the seed that would warrant their attention?" He replied. "Aelita, call the mayor, we need her help. We can't let them dig up the farm while the seed is there, if they dig it up while it's still a seed before it can grow into a sapling, let alone a full fledged tree, they might destroy it by accident! Let alone whatever knowledge the Data Sphere contains within it."

She nodded and put her hand to her ears in the universal sign of 'being on the phone', while he and Gazelle went to get dressed.

An hour later Jeremy and Aelita were in front of the Mayor in her office with Gazelle, explaining the situation with Lioness and why it was so important that 'he' be the one to find the sphere first.

"So, this, data sphere, how much data are we talking about?" Lioness asked as she looked at the holographic sphere Aelita created to show her.

"Enough that anything could be inside of it, and I mean 'anything'." He said.

"Mayor Lioness, you need to do something, who knows what the government will do with that data sphere if they get their paws on it first." Gazelle said. "Of all the mammals in the world, Jeremy is the only one whom we can truly trust with the contents of that sphere, he won't let 'any' of his technology fall into our hands without making sure its 'safe' for us and that we are ready for it. But the government won't be so careful, and heavens above forbid if what they find are designs for weapons. You know what the drones alone are capable of, and they aren't even all built the same!"

Lioness looked between him and Gazelle before looking at the holosphere, then she leaned back and sighed while holding her face. "I'm afraid there's not much I can do, the location is in Bunny Burrows, not Zootopia. If it were closer maybe, but at this point the feds have freer reign than I do with what goes on out there." She sighed. "I can contact the governor and explain the situation to them, and see what I can do but this is out of my jurisdiction."

As Aelita returned to her original form as a young girl he looked thoughtful at what the mayor told him. He had no choice then if he was to avoid any mammal getting access to the data sphere, but to go to the site and dig it up 'before' they could get to it.

"Then I have no choice but to go there myself." He stated as he got up and picked Aelita's sphere up.

"Then I'm going with you." Gazelle said warmly. "Mayor, since we're going to the Hopps family farm, can we ask for Judy and Nick to join us as well? I think Judy's presence might help us if we run into trouble."

"That I can do, just one quick call to Chief of Police Bogo, and I'll have them reassigned temporarily." Lioness said with a smile. "Good luck Jeremy, I'll do what I can but… please be careful when dealing with the feds. If something happens at that level, there's not much I can do to help."

He nodded and left with Gazelle and Aelita out of the building and into the Solar Carriage, then headed off to pick up her backup dancers who 'had' been getting ready to work that day with her as she was scheduled to be working on her next music video. But she told them, after telling her Agent she was taking the day off for 'personal' reasons, that they were instead going to the Hopps Family Farm in Bunny Burrows, both as a mini vacation and because they wanted to see this 'data sphere' as well.

Meanwhile he was talking with Aelita as to how they were going to 'dig' for the sphere without risking potential damage to the seed, the Hopps crops, and especially risking the sphere being noticed by the feds. To that end he ordered Aelita requisition two FOX drones, and six hundred ANT drones with twenty Command ANT drones, and charging containers for them. He also ordered back up power cells be brought up for the journey, as he did not know how long it would take the ANTs to dig up the sphere. He also was bringing along four RAPTOR drones to act as his escort. However due to how 'slow' the carriage moved when pulled by the two HORSE drones, they would be left behind to reach the Hopps farm in time.

At the base entrance he watched the drones walking to his carriage with the items he requested, as a ZPD squad car rolled up to them.

"Jeremy, how's it going?" Judy said as she jumped out with Nick as the car moved off, both of them wearing civilian clothing.

"Chief Bogo said you needed us, so what's up?" Nick said as he shook Jeremy's hand.

"Thank you, we're heading to your family farm again Judy."

"Oh, were you invited to dinn-er…" She said when multiple drones approached the Solar Carriage with various pieces of equipment.

In total there were four power cells each the size of a large bottle of water, six charging canisters each containing one hundred ANT drones, two FOX drones each with specialized Holo-emitters to handle the rural environment, and four Raptor Drones to complete the entourage. All of them were loading the equipment into the back of the carriage, where Aelita had created a compartment when she upgraded the carriage for just such an occasion.

"Jeremy what's with all the drones and equipment?" Judy asked in a hesitant tone.

"I'll explain in the carriage, not here." He whispered to the two cops. "Donny, do you or your brothers want to drive the carriage this time or let the autopilot handle it?"

"Oh, we are taking this cub for a spin!" Franky called as they were in the middle of a game using their hands to decide the winner.

"Yes! I get to drive it!" Moe yelled enthusiastically.

He nodded as Moe got into the driver's seat and chuckled eagerly as he saw the holographic tools at his disposal, while he turned to the drones as they finished loading the carriage up, all the while as RAPTOR drones watched the streets for any passersby and keeping watch.

"Drones, are we set to go?"

A FOX drone turned to him and nodded. **[Yes, Unit Jeremy, all preparations are complete, we may leave on your command!]** It stated.

"Then let's get going." He said quickly, and while Gazelle, Franky, Donny Joe, Judy and Nick all climbed into the spacious seating area, he ordered the FOX drones to also climb into the carriage since they couldn't move as fast. To the RAPTORs he ordered them to maintain a perimeter around the carriage until ordered to otherwise, then he too joined the others and sat next to Gazelle. At long last they got underway with Aelita staying in the front seat to act as a GPS guide.

As the Carriage made its way onto the main road and from there started the long journey to Bunny Burrows, he finally started explaining to Judy and Nick what they were doing. He explained the finding of the Data Sphere, explained how important it was, the Mayor's insistence that all s he could do was contact the governor to try and get him to help, and warn him to be careful as the feds were already on the scene, no doubt looking for the sphere. And he told Judy that the sphere was located directly under the Hopps family farm, within proximity to the seed her father planted.

Judy just looked surprised as she absorbed all of this information, Nick alongside her could see why all of their preparations were so important now.

"Sweet cheese and crackers… just… sweet cheese and crackers Jeremy…" She whispered. "Do you have any idea what could be inside of that sphere?"

"No, and that is why its so important that 'I' get to it first." He said nervously. "With all of the data that it could contain, and above all the data that one could gain from it… the risk is too great to let your government get to it first. I wouldn't take this risk if I was sure that it was safe to share it, but until Aelita or I can access it…"

"Better in your hands then the government, yea I know how it is… seen it in a tv series." Nick muttered. "Well… at least we'll get to visit your family farm again and maybe have that big dinner."

"Yea I better call ahead and let them know we're coming." Judy said.

"Hold on… Aelita!" He called out, and instantly Aelita appeared as a hologram on the table before them all. "Can you tap into Judy's phone and set it up in a way so that her call can't be monitored or tapped into? Just as a safety precaution."

Aelita nodded and instantly started typing in midair, before nodding to Judy and giving her a thumbs up.

Judy made her call afterwards.

=Meanwhile at the Hopps Family Farm=

(Stu and Bonnie Hopps PoV)

"Now I'm telling you for the last time to get off of my property!" Stu yelled angrily to the suits as they had their fancy little pads and metal detectors walking around the house and more importantly his blueberry and carrot crops, he'd just planted two weeks ago. "I don't care what it is your looking for, whatever it is, it aint here, now get!"

"Again, we apologize for the inconvenience but for your safety we need to finish conducting our survey of the area and the surrounding landscape." The she-wolf said in a monotone voice, not at all meaning what she said. "We detected some… minor tremors and we…"

"Tremors, what tremors, there hasn't been a quake in these parts for two hundred years!" Stu yelled angrily as he followed after them as they continued to search the fields. "I'm reporting you to the local sheriff if I have to, if you don't get your suits off of my land!"

"We know our rights whoever you are, under article seven we have the right to invite or dismiss any mammal we see fit off of our property that we 'tax paying', 'law abiding citizens', of Bunnyburrow see fit to do!" Bonnie stated just as angrily.

The suits ignored them as they continued to follow their metal trackers, and they both started getting worried as they approached the small plot of land they'd saved for the tree Jeremy requested of them.

"Mr. Hopps is there a reason why this area of land is completely clear?" The suit asked curiously as she stared at the large square space.

"This is a planting field; do you not know a planting field when you see one?" He yelled.

"And what are you growing on this plot of land, that requires it to have so much space 'away' from all the other crops, ruining the otherwise symmetrical spacing of all the other crops you have planted?" She said as she started walking with her team over the row of Midnicampum holicithias he planted around the tree to keep insects away from the seed.

"H-Hey watch it those things are…"

"We already know they are referred to as 'Night Howlers, we already have been given the vaccine to counter their effects, but you still haven't answered my-" She said before one of her colleagues stopped her.

"I'm picking up something metallic."

"Where?"

"It's close by… and… moving?" He said in confusion.

Stu realized what was happening when he remembered one important thing… OK-101 wasn't near the seed, otherwise they would have seen him before. Which means they'd gone to the seed during his 'recharge cycle' when he goes to the barn to change batteries. "Uh, you might wanna back away and get out of that plot of land!" He said cautiously.

"It's getting closer…"

"I mean it, get out of that square of land now!" Stu tried to warn them.

Unfortunately his warning came too late as seconds after he spoke, they all turned toward the sound of metallic feet stomping heavily on dirt, and saw the metallic silvery body of the raptor drone running toward them, teeth glinting in the evening sunlight as it roared and screamed at them.

**[GET AWAY FROM THAT LOCATION!]** It yelled.

"Get down!" She screamed as she and the others dived out of the way as OK-101 snapped at them while running past.

It landed heavily and crouched over the spot where he'd buried the seed, using its body to act as a shield and keep the seed safe while glaring at them with yellow glowing eyes. **[Keeyariaaaaah!]** It screeched, roaring and snapping at them with its teeth.

"All units we have a human machine on the field, all units have guns at the ready! Fire at will!" She yelled as she pulled out her pistol and took aim.

"No don't shoot!" Stu tried to yell but it was too late.

-Bang bang banbanbangbangbang-

-Pewtsing tng-

From all around the field gunfire erupted as the drone snarled and roared at them while refusing to budge, protecting the seed buried underground with its body and not getting up even to protect itself so that the seed would not be harmed.

**[Keeeyarahaaaaaah!]** It screeched again as it snapped its teeth.

Then it's back opened up and a long barrel extended, took aim and fired what looked like a small metal dart. It lodged into and broke the pistol of the suit who started firing at it. Then one by one it started dismantling their weapons with precise aim.

"What is this human machine doing here?" She screamed as it disarmed them, while still glaring and snapping at them with its teeth.

**[Hyeeeeeeeeees…]** It snarled dangerously, tightening its grip on the area of dirt it was protecting.

"That's what I tried to warn you before you started shooting!" Stu yelled angrily when the shooting stopped.

"Call for backup we need something heavier to destroy this thing!" She yelled.

"Will you 'stop' and LISTEN to my husband for carrot's sake?" Bonnie yelled. "That drone is a 'guest' of our farm, and it's protecting a seed!"

The suit finally listened and looked in confusion at them, as if they were insane. "A 'seed'? Are you joking me?"

"No, that drone is protecting a seed, entrusted to us by Jeremy!" He said with a growl. "He told us that its important to his people, that it's the 'last' seed his kind left them, and that he wanted 'us' to grow it here because its location to grow is very important. This entire area we quartered off so that it would have all the space, soil, nutrients, and 'EVERYTHING' needed to grow healthily. We spent 'days' making sure there aren't any weed seeds to be found and no little critters under the soil to threaten its growth! And that drone was left here to make sure it 'stays' safe from any mammal wanting to steal it!"

She just looked even more confused as she heard his explanation, but she coughed and tried to sound professional again. "Be that as it may, that thing is interrupting our investigation, so we are going to remove it by 'force'." She said. "We'll try to avoid collateral damage but if that thing continues to resist, we'll be forced to use more lethal force. For your safety we ask that you please evacuate the premises."

"That's it you done gone too far now!" Bonnie snapped as she started rummaging around her pocket. "I am calling the sheriff; I am going to have you arrested for violating our property and our rights!"

Only she didn't have her phone on her.

"Honey I left my phone inside I'm going to call the sheriff."

"You do that, and as for you, get off MY LAND!" Stu screamed. "That thing has more right to be here than 'any' of you!"

While his wife went into the house to fetch her phone and call the authorities, he was busy trying to shoo the suits and get them to leave. Meanwhile the drone continued to stand its ground refusing to budge, protecting the seed with its body. His kids were watching the scene unfold from the house as he yelled and demanded they leave.

Inside the house Bonnie was just about to dial the sheriff when her daughter suddenly called.

"Judy darling now is not the time I'm trying to call the sheriff!" She said quickly.

"_Mom, are there federal agents there?"_ Her daughter asked.

"Uh… yes why?" She said.

"_Listen mom, we're on our way with Jeremy, whatever you do 'keep them busy'. And when we arrive pretend like I did not call you, and act like you'd forgotten that you invited us all over for dinner! We'll explain 'everything' when we get there and aren't being overheard."_

"Uh… okay honey… how long are you out?"

"_About ten minutes, I've been trying to call you for over an hour, sorry."_

"Oh, honey I'm sorry, I forgot my phone inside when they started poking their noses. Oh, and honey, tell Jeremy to please hurry, they started shooting at his drone and I'm worried about the seed!"

"_We'll be there soon!"_ With that she hung up.

Bonnie nodded and dialed the sheriff's office and made her report, demanding that the police arrive and get these suits off her family's farm. Then she ran out to join her husband and keep them busy like her daughter asked.

"Ma'am for the last time please evacuate your family off the premises, and let us do our jobs." The suit growled in frustration while the drone still stared at them.

"And I'm saying get off of my land, you are NOT welcomed, you are NOT wanted, and you are trespassing on MY PROPERTY!" Stu yelled back.

"I already called the sheriff; they are sending a car out here to get you suits off our land!" Bonnie said also.

That was when two of their little ones Roxy and Todd ran out the backdoor of their home and toward them.

"Roxy, Todd get back in the house now!" Stu demanded of them. "And what did I tell you about crossing that line of Midnicampum holicithias!"

Their children slid to a stop just before they crossed the line of flowers and yelled, "Mom, Dad, Jeremy's here!"

"Jeremy?" The suit asked incredulously.

"Oh, dearie me I completely forgot to make dinner and start baking the cake!" Bonnie muttered, pretending to sound shocked.

"Wait, you did?" Stu said in confusion.

"Honey how can you remember every single one of our kid's names and birthdays, but you can't remember when we invited Jeremy and his friends over to celebrate twelve of our little one's birthdays over family dinner?" She said in her 'shame on you' voice hoping he got the message and to play along. "We invited them earlier, how could you forget?"

"Oh, sweet cracked corn… I completely forgot…" Stu muttered as he pretended to nod in agreement, before turning to stare angrily at the suits. "Well now your going to get your proof, and I want you off my land afterwards!"

(Jeremy's PoV)

As the carriage stopped, he and Gazelle were the first to step out, followed by Judy and Nick and then finally Donny, Franky, Moe and Joe. All of them stretching after being in the carriage for nearly two hours. The RAPTOR drones, not having muscles and no cramps, simply proceeded to scan for potential threats with their blue optics shining.

"Well let's go say hi to my folks, uh hope you don't mind eating with over three hundred rabbits." Judy said. "Last time I lived in Bunny Burrows I only had two hundred and thirty-seven brothers and sisters."

"How…" Jeremy asked, but then remembered an important fact about rabbits, and so chose not to ask. "Anyway, since we're here we can check on the seed's progress. I know it's only been a few weeks since we left it but I'm curious as to how fast it will grow."

"You are one impatient human; don't you know growing stuff takes time?" Nick chuckled.

"Yea but that's normal plants, what about a super seed?" Jeremy countered back as they started making their way to the family home.

"Jeeeeremy!" They heard someone call and turned to see Judy's parents walking over to them, accompanied by a female timber wolf in suit who looked like an official of some kind.

"Ooooh how are you Jeremy I am so sorry we completely forgot you were coming; we had some uninvited company and they just completely sidetracked us and made us completely forget you were coming here!" Bonnie said as she walked over and shook his and Gazelle's hands. "Welcome to our family farm miss Gazelle, and you too Nick, and my little Judy welcome home! Oh, and I did not forget you four as well, you are Gazelle's friends who work for her right?""

"Yea that's us ma'am." Moe chuckled as they all shook Bonnie and Stu's hands.

"It's nice to be here ma'am." Gazelle said warmly as she greeted bonnie as well.

"Nice to be here Mr. and Mrs. Hopp." Nick said with a smile.

After they all greeted each other he then turned to the Timber Wolf who was now being joined by other mammals also wearing suits and some carrying what looked like 'tracking' equipment, no doubt to try and locate the Data Sphere.

"And you are?" He asked politely, already knowing who they were and why they were there, but playing along anyway.

The wolf he addressed adjusted her spectacles and straightened her outfit before addressing him. "I'm Agent Kuala, and my team and I work for the government." She said politely. "My team is here investigating a geographical disturbance-"

"That there is a downright lie, you and your 'suits' are trespassing on my land and attacked Jeremy's drone without any reason!"

"You attacked my drone?" He said suddenly. "Is that true?"

"Well, with all due respect the 'machine' you refer to as a drone threatened and attacked us." She tried countering.

He sighed as he held his face before turning to Stu, "Did you tell them about the seed and why the drone is here in the first place?"

"We tried but these folks wouldn't listen and shot your drone while it was just doing its job!" Bonnie said. "I even called the Sheriff and they'll be here in a short while to have you all arrested and off our property!"

"With all due respect ma'am, we still are conducting our investigation." She said.

"Alright then while you do that, I am going to talk to OK-101 and hear it's side of the story." He said politely. "Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, do you require any help with preparing dinner? I know we arrived a bit earlier than expected but if you want my RAPTOR drones can help you with 'some' tasks if you wish."

"Oh no need dear, I can handle it just fine, why don't you all go inside and meet the family while Jeremy and 'Kuala' go and talk to his drone!" Bonnie said.

"And I'll wait out here for the sheriff!" Stu said.

"Alright, thank you very much for having us!" Jeremy said warmly as he walked and was joined by one of his escort RAPTORs and Kuala with her team, while everyone else went into the house.

He approached the plot of land allotted to the seed by Judy's parents squared off by several flowers. In the middle of it was a crouched RAPTOR drone, it's optics yellow and snarling at Kuala and her team as he approached.

"Drone, stand down." He ordered.

The drone's optics changed blue and instantly it ceased growling and stood at attention.

"Alright, what happened?"

**[This unit had just finished its recharging cycle, Unit Jeremy, and was returning to its standard post.]** It stated. **[Upon gaining sight of the post, this unit spotted intruders within the area you ordered this unit to protect, and proceeded to warn them to leave the area. Its warning went unheeded and they open fired on this unit with small-arms fire, attempting to destroy this unit. In retaliation this unit used the required force to disarm and dissuade them from further attempts.]**

"Is the seed safe, is all I want to know now." He asked coldly.

**[Affirmative, no harm was done to the seed's location, all damage was done to this unit's armor, which sustained no damage.]** It stated.

"Phew…" He sighed in relief, before turning to the agent. "I expect an apology for what you did to my drone 'and' for threatening a precious seed I left the Hopps to take care of."

"A-an apology?" She stammered. "Mr. Jeremy Wilheart, while you may be an endangered species you are 'not' above the law. This drone is trespassing on this property and you are not permitted to do whatever it is you want in this country."

"The only mammals trespassing on this property is you lot!" Stu yelled as he arrived and was now under the company of a pair of grizzly bears in rural officer uniforms, one of them wearing a badge with the word 'Sheriff' on it. "That drone has 'all' the permission to be here, but you lot showed up and refused to leave when you gave us that pathetic excuse for a story!"

"As I said we are conducting an investigation for…" Kuala said as she tried to pull out her badge, but was silenced as the Sheriff stood up to her.

"Save the government speech for a mammal who doesn't know what you're talking about." He said with a snarl. "I know the government rules about who is permitted on this land, this farmland all belongs to the Hopps family, and under Article Fifteen, subsection twelve, paragraph fifteen… 'no mammal' and that means 'no mammal', may perform ANY activity which may disrupt or interfere in the daily livelihood of the owners of this land. And as for your 'reason'… I have a seismometer at the county police station, and it's been quiet here for thirty years. Now… unless you have a 'permit' which lets you do whatever it is your 'really' here for…" He leaned forward and growled, "Get off their property, or I'm going to exercise my legal right at the state level… to detain you until someone at the government pays your bail!"

"Grh…" She muttered before pointing at the drone. "Where's the proof that this human has done what these mammals are saying, and planted a 'tree seed' here, that warrants one of his 'drones' to be here twenty-four seven?"

"Drone?" Jeremy said with a smile, "Show them…"

OK-101 nodded and stepped aside at long last, to show, in the exact middle of the section of land outlined in Night Howler flowers…

A single… tiny… sprout… poking out from the dirt.

"It still amazes me that thing is growing as fast as you said it would Jeremy." Stu said with a proud smile. "We been feeding it every day, tending to it and making sure nothing is wrong, and we just noticed the little sprout poking outa the ground there. I know you said it was a tree combined with a weed to make it grow fast, but I still can't believe it's growing 'that' fast!"

Agent Kuala however was not looking as impressed with the plant growing right where the drone had been standing guard, and the Sheriff in contrast was grinning as he leaned down and said into her ear, "You have 'five' minutes to vacate the area, before I'm hauling you all in."

After a few seconds she gritted her teeth and signaled her fellow agents to follow her, and they all began leaving the area. Once out of sight the Sheriff stepped over and shook his hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you Jeremy, Name's Smokey, Sheriff Smokey." He said. "Happy to make your acquaintance, everymammal out here knows all about you and what you did for us all with the vaccines and cures was really nice of you."

"It's a pleasure, and I am sorry for any trouble we caused, but that seed the Hopps have planted here is very important to my species. It's the last from my kind and carries all their hopes with it, I need to keep it safe at all costs until its mature enough. While its still growing it is at risk of being stolen or destroyed by accident, and that is why my drone is out here."

"No problem at all sir, just pleased to make your acquaintance and glad to be of service here." He said with a smile. "Well Mr. Hopps, we're heading back to town, if you have any more problems give us a call!"

"Thank you, Smokey, and come on by anytime you and your wife want to visit, we'll whip up something for you to chow down on!" Stu said as the Grizzly walked off.

Once he was out of earshot though he whispered to Jeremy, "Between you an me he still scares me, only still getting over my fear of predators recently, since ya know I got a son in law who is one now."

"No problem, now then, OK-101, resume what I ordered you to do, and as for you KP-503, return to the carriage and stand watch until further notice." He ordered.

**[As you command.]** Both drones stated while bowing their heads to him, before KP-503 turned and marched off, and OK-101 resumed standing guard over the tiny plant.

(Kuala's PoV)

She watched from her van through a pair of binoculars, watching as one of the drones walked away while the other resumed standing guard over the plant. As they left Mr. Hopp went with Jeremy to his home and walked inside.

"Tch, this complicates things…" She muttered as she turned to her team who were watching various computer screens inside the vehicle. "Is that signal still being broadcast?"

"Yes, we're still picking it up, its coming from where the drone is standing." One of her agents said. "Can't tell how deep it is… but it's still there."

"Is there any chance he knows what we're here for?" She asked.

"Doesn't seem like it, based on how he reacted."

She frowned as she watched the farmhouse for activity, but so far, the only activity was coming from inside the house, the drones watching the human's Carriage were simply standing and looking around. None of them looked at them in their vehicle, and other than that one drone that accompanied the human, none of them showed any further movement.

"Contact HQ, tell them we need a permit to dig on the Hopps property for the signal we're detecting, and we need it 'tomorrow'." She said.

"Why tomorrow, why not just wait until the human is gone and then come back with the permit at a later date?"

"Because we 'know' that signal is not mammal, and if its Human, then it won't take that human long to find it and try to claim it for himself!" She said. "You know how advanced and powerful that species is, if this thing is human then whatever it is, we can take it back and study it, maybe even reverse engineer it and gain a huge advantage for our nation."

She remembered the briefings, the video feeds, every single document they had on the 'hostage incident' in which a group of heavily armed mammals tried to do something to Jeremy, causing potentially lethal harm to him. The response from the human's facility was brutal, but also deadly efficient. The briefing stated that with the human's level of technology, even their most advanced Tank would be no match for one of those drones.

She resumed watching the drones again, staring at their prehistoric yet futuristic nature, each one the equivalent of a battalion of soldiers, and each more heavily armed and armored than their best tanks are.

"Obtaining 'one' of those would make us a superpower on the world stage… but as long as the human has control over them… we're at 'his' mercy."

(Jeremy's and Gazelle's PoV, hours later Night-Time)

"Haaaaaapy birthday to yoooooou!" Everyone shouted in a massive chorus as Bonnie and Stu Hopp planted the 'enormous' cake on the table with the words Happy Birthday Boliqua, Bovania, Nemira, Papaya, Terrance, Terrace, Julie, Madonna, Matilda, Paul, Robberto and Robbert written on it in frosting.

"Blow out the candles!" Gazelle called out.

As one all twelve of Judy's little brothers and sisters blew out the candles to cheers and applause.

"Mamma you have outdone yourself once again, that is one fabulous looking cake you made!" Judy said as every mammal started digging into it.

"Love the blueberry frosting mmmmhmmm!" Nick said as he licked his fingertips.

"Mhmm this is delicious!" Moe called out.

"Love birthday parties." Franky said in agreement.

"Can't beat homemade cake, nothing is better than a mother's cooking!" Donny also said in agreement.

Joe quickly hushed his brothers though while everyone was digging into the cake and whispered, _"Ex nay on the 'cooking mother'…"_, while glancing at Jeremy who was eating his piece of the carrot cake.

Jeremy however had heard him, but pretended not to have heard him. He hardly knew his mother; she left his life too early in his life for him to remember much about her. He also did not know what 'mother's cooking' was, so there was nothing to miss. He kept his emotions in check, not wanting to spoil the festivities or the atmosphere.

He was drinking some tea Bonnie Hopp made for him since he couldn't drink the cold beverages the others were drinking on account of his disease. As he took a sip he stared at 'all' of the Hopps family in the huge living room, amazed that the family could fit so many into one location. He was more amazed that Judy's parents knew the name of 'every' one of their children and could call them out with just a glance of their faces. He barely could keep track of any of them, including those who had birthday cones on their heads.

"Say Jeremy, did humans have any birthday party games?" Gazelle asked as she ate a slice of cake.

He turned to Gazelle and nodded. "Before my time we did yea, though I don't know many of them."

"Wow, you played games on your birthdays?" One of Judy's brothers asked him eagerly, running up to him. "Can we play any of them?"

"Hmmm, well the one that I know of was 'Pin the Tail on the Donkey', thooough we don't have a picture of a donkey to use here… hmmm…" He thought to himself before having an idea. "Mr. and Mrs. Hopp, do you mind if one of my drones come in here?"

"Uh, what for?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"You'll see, and we'll need some blindfolds!"

"I can grab a few!" One of Judy's sisters called out, and within minutes several pieces of cloth were handed to him.

"Great, now all I need is a drone…" He said as he walked to the front door and yelled, "CAN ONE OF YOU RAPTORS COME HERE PLEASE?"

Within a few seconds Jeremy walked back into the living room accompanied by one of his RAPTOR drones. As he and it walked through, every one of Judy's brothers and sisters got out of their way. But instead of looking in fear they looked at it with awe and wonder, as if they were more amazed to see something like it.

"Alright now, give me two seconds…" He muttered as he made the drone face the wall and bent near its tail. "Push this button… press a few hinges in… aaaaaand…"

-Plunk-

"Instant 'Pin the Tail on the Raptor'!" He yelled as the last three inches of tail fell off, leaving a small stub with holes exposed. "The game is played like this, some of you are blindfolded, and you have to carry the drone's tail while every mammal here yells out instructions to guide you into sticking the tail back on the drone. As a reward…" He pointed at the drone and the drone looked at him in response. "Those who correctly reattach the tail, will get to ride UN-071's back here around the house"!"

"OH, US FIRST, US FIRST!" Several of the little family members eagerly screamed.

Within moments six of them were blindfolded and lifting up the drone's tail, all of them having to work together to carry it because it was rather 'heavy' for them. Then every other mammal was shouting out instructions and telling them which way to walk, telling them how close or how far away they were, to turn left or right, up or down, all to guide them and help them put the tail back on the drone.

"Yaaaaaaay!" Everyone shouted as they correctly replaced the tail and then Donny, Franky, Moe and Joe pulled the tail off and held it for the next group to try.

While he watched them, all playing with the drone, happy that they weren't afraid of it, he decided to quietly leave the room and head outside into the night air.

Thinking privately, he decided to walk toward the seed's location, wanting to look at it again.

"Jeremy?" Gazelle asked as she followed him, knowing he wanted to be alone.

"Yes Gazelle?" He asked, turning to face her as she walked up to him and held him.

She just responded with a gentle kiss before smiling sadly at him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright… it's just, seeing them all happy… eating cake… all enjoying their time together while celebrating their birthdays… reminded me that I've… never had a birthday like what they had growing up."

She smiled sadly, knowing that while she celebrated his birthday, heck giving him every male's 'dream birthday present', having a birthday party as a kid was something he never experienced. He played no games as a kid, enjoyed no cake, had no parties with friends and family… did not have that 'special feeling' one has on their special day of the year. Such simple things like 'eating mother's cooking' like one of her friends commented, was something he never had… eating food made by drones all his life.

"Don't worry, I'm fine really… I can't miss anything I never had really." He said with a sigh, but Gazelle knew that was a downright lie.

She could tell when he was lying, her heart could feel the tiny pang of sorrow, and her heart told her exactly what to do.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him sweetly on the lips. It wasn't a passionate kiss, it wasn't one out of lust, and it wasn't just to say, 'I love you'. It was a kiss to tell him what he did have, what he had 'now', and that he would always have it now because she wasn't going to let him go.

He responded in kind as he gently cupped her cheek and leaned into her lips, and stayed that way for several minutes before she pulled away with a loving smile.

"Say Gazelle, do you want to see the seed?" He asked her.

She nodded and together they walked over to the plot of land where OK-101 was still standing guard. She smiled as the drone nodded to them, and at his request, stepped aside to show them the tiny little sprout, poking its head out of the ground.

"Wow…" She muttered. "It's like your father said…"

"All the magic of creation… in a single tiny seed." He said. "It's not much now… but soon it will grow to become a tree, and depending on it's rate of growth it may bear fruit before it's fully matured."

"Your species is amazing Jeremy… that even if it was a drone who helped, they could create something like 'that'." She muttered to him.

"I'm just happy to know the seed will grow, and that everything my father did to get it to me, will not be in vain." He whispered to her.

"Nothing is ever done in vain Jeremy… nothing." She told him warmly as she leaned on him.

He then turned to her and she smiled as he did so, before he leaned forward and kissed her gently on her lips. After a few seconds she turned to face him, and he pushed her down to lie flat on the earth.

"Jeremy… mhmm we really shouldn't do it outside…" She whispered to him quietly. "What if the Hopps or somemammal catches or sees us?"

He grinned before turning to the drone, which was still standing guard, completely ignoring them as they made out in front of it. "Drone, link up to the other RAPTORs and alert us if any mammal leaves the Hopps home, or is nearby."

**[As you command…]** It stated with a nod, and after a few seconds its optics changed colors before returning to blue. **[Link established… all units are still within the living room playing 'Pin the Tail on the Raptor', no other mammals detected within range…]**

"It's nice to have a few drones watching out for us isn't it?" He whispered to her.

"You are so bold now Jeremy…" She giggled as she smirked, happy to have worn a skirt today instead of pants. "I like it…"

"When you have a beautiful girlfriend, who wouldn't be bold with them every chance he can?"

"I'm not complaining… now come here!" She giggled as she pulled him in for a more 'passionate' kiss. "Mhmm… mhmmmhmmm~."

While she kissed him ferociously her legs wrapped around and locked him in place from behind, pulling him closer into her embrace even as she wrapped her hands around his back, drawing him as close as possible to her. She didn't understand why but she was just 'extremely' eager to do it with him, the thought of being with him, being so close, making love to him just felt like a good idea. It almost felt instinctual at this point to her.

"Jeremy…" She panted as he started kissing lower and lower, slowly making his way down her neck and closer to her breasts, which he carefully exposed and cupped in his hands, massaging her 'twins' one at a time. "Ooooh… yes… ah~."

He kissed her small but still wonderfully soft breasts, cupping both of them in his hands and feeling their softness through her thin layer of fur. He licked his tongue across her breasts and played with her protruding nipple, causing her to gasp and moan in pleasure.

"Ahhhh… Jeremy… oh… your tongue… oh please keep doing that!" She gasped in pleasure, while her legs began shifting and trying to pull him into her, simulating the motions of Jeremy thrusting into her and trying to entice his dick to harden, and get him inside of her faster.

He did as she asked and continued to play with her breasts, squeezing one gently while he licked and sucked on the other. Then after he felt her nipple becoming hard, he switched roles and began sucking and licking her other breast.

Gazelle was in paradise as he played with her body, having gained a lot of knowledge about her in the past week with her constantly enticing him to make love to her. Curiously she only ever acted this way when they were alone. In public or around others, she showed affection but never to this extent. But as he played with her nipples, and she felt his 'manhood' pitching quite the tent in his pants through her panties, which were becoming soaked in excitement, she just wished he would start thrusting into her already and truly bring her to climax.

As he released her breasts, he returned to kissing her lips while he reached lower and started to undo his pants to release his now hardened dick which was painfully telling him his clothes were too tight. While he kissed and released his belt, and started to remove his boxers, he once again smelled that strange yet oddly sweet scent. He only ever smelled it around Gazelle when they were having sex, and he started smelling it after his birthday.

"I've been… meaning to ask." He said as he kissed her, while he felt one of her hands let him go so it could reach toward her panties and help shift them out of the way. "What's that perfume you've been using… it smells wonderful…"

Instantly Gazelle let go and said in slight panic, "What perfume, I haven't been wearing any perfume recently?"

He looked at her in surprise, "Then what's that wonderful scent I've been smelling from you recently?"

Her eyes went wide as she heard those words, as suddenly her mind seemed to have formed some semblance of clarity through the haze of desire and lust she'd been feeling so far. She quickly started running through her memory, and thought about every day she's been making love to Jeremy and began connecting the dots about how she was so 'eager' to make love to him. "Jeremy, when did you first smell this scent I've been giving up?"

"Uh… after my birthday, like the next morning was when I first…" He started saying before she looked nervous and worried.

"Jeremy… how much has Ema told you about… well… mammal biology?" She said quietly.

"Nothing outside of the internal organs… and helping me to correct the artificial organs I was working on. Why?"

She began breathing heavily in fear, as she looked into his blue eyes, and took a calming breath to explain. "Jeremy… Antelopes like me, and other mammal species have what we call… an 'Estrus Cycle'… I don't know what it was like for my human times but… as an Antelope I have two Estrus Cycles per year. With all that happened over these past months, I forgot to take my medication to help me deal with it and kill it before it begins." She told him. "It lasts for about a week, six days total, maybe seven… but during that time I am… at my most 'fertile' and more susceptible to becoming pregnant."

At that his eyes went wide, if that's the case then…

"If what Ema said yesterday was true… I managed to avoid it so far… but… Jeremy… I could be pregnant now… or I might become pregnant after tonight."

"Gazelle… I told you that I might not even be capable of getting you pregnant." He told her truthfully.

"That was before… maybe you 'can' now… maybe its possible… and if it is, whether or not I am doesn't matter… I want you to know that…" She said as she placed a hand on his cheek and smiled warmly. "I want it… I want to bear your children Jeremy, I'm truly ready to start a family with you if you truly want one with me."

"Gazelle…" He whispered in surprise as he held her cheek as well.

"Do you… not want a family with me?" She asked hopefully, not knowing if he truly wanted to start a family with her.

She'd skimmed over that detail in her feelings of love for him, her desire to just 'be' with him, to hold him, to tell the world that not only had the last of humanity won her heart but that she'd won his in return, that she did not consider the possibility that Jeremy might not want to have children with her or want to raise a family. Jeremy was quiet for several seconds, during which she waited for his answer, but every second he delayed caused her to worry even more.

Then Jeremy took a deep breath and looked into her eyes, her gentle, hopeful, beautiful eyes that helped save him on the cold, deadly rainy day so many months ago.

"Gazelle… I want you to have my children if its possible." He stated at last. "I want you to have my children, and I want to raise them with you, no matter what happens… till the day I day…"

She smiled and cried tearfully as she kissed him lovingly, her fears abated, and her heart pounding in happiness even as his responded in turn. Both of their hearts seemed to collide against one another, and Gazelle's smothered his in its warmth and love, so happy that it had made the right choice to love him and his feeling the exact same way.

"Then tonight… right here… it's probably my last night of Estrus Jeremy… which means I'm at my most fertile." She said happily. "Tonight, right here… don't worry if we can or can't, just do it… make love to me and try your absolute hardest to impregnate me, and I'll do my absolute hardest to 'become' pregnant!"

He nodded in understanding and once more resumed making out with her, though with more passion than before.

"Mhmmm!" She moaned as she responded, shifting her position to give him easier access to her soaking entrance.

After a few seconds they separated and she nodded with a warm smile, signaling him to begin.

He nodded and lowered his boxers enough to expose his stiff member, which met the entrance to her pussy which her hand exposed by shifting her panties just enough. He pressed the tip to her entrance, which pulsed in excitement while dripping her essence in preparation. Her Estrus Cycle was on full display to their nose as she knew instinctively that this was her best and last chance for several more months to become pregnant.

Without further ado, he pressed into her and she moaned in pleasure as he slowly hilted in her.

She breathed deeply before smiling at him. "Perfect fit… now give me your baby seed Jeremy… do your best for me, and I'll do my best for you."

He nodded and kissed her, before thrusting into her at a slow and steady pace.

"Ah… ah… ahhh… oooh… yes… yes… oh yes… Jeremy…" She gasped as she felt his manhood pushing into her passage.

She could feel every vein, every inch of it, even the rim of the tip of his dick she could feel along her body. Every time he thrust into her she felt his dick pushing the entrance to her womb, almost like it 'knew' what they were trying to do and was trying its hardest to force its way into her womb, to ensure maximum potential to impregnate her.

"Jeremy… harder… I feel your dick… my womb… push harder… harder!"

"Alright!" He moaned as he adjusted his position so that his hands were using the ground as leverage, and began thrusting harder as she requested.

"Ah… oh… yes… ah… yes… yes… right there… there… there… AHHH~!" She gasped as her womb's entrance was penetrated, her cervix opening and closing, just at the right time so that his dick was now firmly lodged into her womb, and wouldn't be let go until the thing they were trying to do was done.

Her womb would get the 'full' payload, and wouldn't let him out until that was done.

"YES… YES… YES!" She screamed in pleasure as he shoved harder and harder into her pussy, her body absolutely burning compared to how 'wet' she was.

"Gazelle… your… so… tight… it feels so good!" He yelled as he leaned forward and pecked her lips every chance he could.

"And you… you feel… so big… I can't take… it anymore!" She moaned passionately, before she pulled him into a tight hug and kissed him, unable to take the pecks anymore. "Mhmm mmhmmm hmmmm~!"

"Mmhmm hmm mpaaah…" He said before he began thrusting harder, feeling his release approaching at long last. "Gazelle… I'm about to…"

"Do it… inside of me… give me your baby… give me 'everything'!" She yelled as she felt her own release approaching.

After a few seconds of thrusting, he hilted at long last and released everything he had been holding back until this moment. His dick exploded into her womb filling it heavily while her own body exploded, releasing her own juices onto his dick and mixing the tiny traces of his seed escaping her body, to form an airtight seal so that as little escaped.

Both of them gasped in pleasure as she held him close to her, and shared a slow but loving embrace.

'_Alright little ones… do your best… and body, do 'your' best…'_ She thought to herself as she felt extremely 'full'.

After a while of recovering they both got up with Gazelle replacing her panties to try and keep her entrance from leaking any of his cum, and Jeremy making himself more presentable. Before they returned, he ordered OK-101 to communicate with the other drones to tell a different story if any mammal asked. Then they made their way back to the party inside the house which had been going on for so long thanks to all of Judy's brothers and sisters wanting to try and pin the tail on the raptor drone. None of them ever noticed they had been gone, and when Stu asked where they'd been, the drone instantly responded for him saying, _**[Unit Jeremy and Unit Gazelle were observing the seed, and accidentally fell asleep for a brief period of time.]**_

Everyone bought the story, and none of them knew what happened, while Gazelle held her belly and hoping for life to find a way for them.

She wasn't sure if it was possible, but she would try her best, try her hardest…

Then she had a thought as she imagined becoming pregnant, before looking at Jeremy while he laughed as some of the little bunnies accidentally plugged the tail in off to the side with all the other mammals in the room.

'_If I become pregnant… what will our children look like… human or…?'_

(Kuala's PoV)

"Yaaaaaaawn…"

She rubbed her eyes and returned to monitoring the drones again, but even after three hours they had not budged in the slightest.

"Why did I take first watch…" She grumbled as she drank some coffee.

Then as she put her cup down, she spotted one of the drones guarding the carriage turn and start marching toward the farmhouse. Instantly she watched it moving, watching it's every step and trying to figure out what it was doing. But the only thing the damned human machine did was walk into the farmhouse. She expected maybe to hear screaming but instead she was hearing laughter and cheers and mixed yelling of words from where her crew's van was positioned.

She grumbled to herself until, again, she spotted movement and saw the human walking out and looking up at the sky. Moments later he was joined by Gazelle, who held him close and seemed to say sweet words to him, before they kissed and embraced one another.

"Acting all sweet huh?" She muttered as they simply talked and then moved off.

She watched their progress until they reached the edge of her binocular's vision and saw them taking a seat near the 'seed' the drone was guarding, and saw it get up and out of their way.

"Showing your girlfriend your precious seed huh?" She muttered to herself. "What are you 'really' up to? Do you know what's out here or are you just as blind as my colleague said you are?"

As she watched a strnage shimmer flashed before her eyes, and she looked in confusion before rubbing the lens of her binoculars, and watched the human with his girlfriend, just sitting there.

"I coulda sworn I saw something…"

(KL-23's PoV)

It sat concealed with its holographic emitters casting the illusion of itself appearing to be a large rock lying on the road, while its more 'specialized' emitters were casting an illusion upon the lens of the mammal's binoculars to conceal from her view Unit Jeremy and Unit Gazelle engaging in what they labeled 'Private affairs between Jeremy and Gazelle that they weren't meant to concern themselves with', so that Jeremy and Gazelle could have privacy, as per AI-Aelita's wishes to keep the government mammals out of their business.

It kept it up until OK-101 reported Jeremy and Gazelle were getting up, and created the image using the link it had established with OK-101 to fool them and create them getting up in real time with their real life counterparts, and then ended its illusion, so that all the spying government agent saw was Jeremy and Gazelle walking close together. Then it resumed 'it's' watch of them…

(Gazelle's PoV)

The next morning Gazelle woke up alongside Jeremy on a soft bed that Stu and Bonnie had kindly given them in the guest room, while in the other guest room and even Judy's room, her friends and Nick also woke up. She knew instantly that her Estrus had passed, and only wondered if Jeremy had succeeded in impregnating her.

However, they had other things to do as they began to leave, thanking Bonnie for her family's hospitality for letting them stay the night.

"Oh, don't worry about it dear, you and Jeremy and all your friends are always welcomed to stop by for family dinner!" She said. "Let us know a day in advance though, and I can invite Stu's and 'my' sides of the family, and we can have a big old family reunion! We'll have a barbeque and make lots of goodies for you all!"

"Thank you very much Mrs. Hopp, we'll consider it in the future, but for now we have to return to Zootopia." He said before they heard a commotion from outside.

"You all again?!" Stu yelled from outside.

They all left the house to find Stu yelling angrily as the same group of 'government agents' were standing on his farmland with equipment again and walking toward the farmland that had been quartered off for Jeremy's tree seed. The drone was watching the group carefully, teeth at the ready as it prepared to defend the location if necessary, to keep the seed protected.

"What in tarnation are you all doing on my land again, honey call the sheriff tell him we need him down here!"

"No need to call, I'm already here." Sheriff Smokey hollered as he was also walking toward them, not happy to see the suits either. "I got a call, was told to come down here, something about a 'warrant' to dig up the area."

"Yes, as you so kindly asked of us yesterday, we obtained a warrant to search for what we came for." Agent Kuala said coldly as she pulled out a folded piece of paper and showed it to Mr. Hopp. "You see, we were indeed lying yesterday about the tremors, we were actually here because we detected a signal on your property transmitting and were ordered to investigate it. We know it's around this location, and now we have the permit to investigate and discover what it is that's broadcasting the signal."

"Signal?" He asked in confusion as Sheriff Smokey looked at the warrant and said it was all in order.

"Alright so what is this 'signal' your detecting?" He asked. "And be specific, because your warrant only lets you dig for 'that' signal if you can detect it on this property."

She smirked as she showed them a device which was pinging the location of something sending out a signal radiating out from the drone's location in front of them.

"As you can see, we're detecting something around here, probably underground, and its right around that location. We can't be sure of the exact depth, but we know its on this land and we need to figure it out, and recover it if necessary. Depending on what it is we may have to temporarily confiscate the surrounding landscape and…"

"Signal…" Jeremy yelled as if he suddenly remembered something while hitting his fists together. "That's what I forgot I also came out here to do! Thanks for reminding me!"

"Wha-?" Kuala muttered as Jeremy walked over to OK-101.

"Drone, hold still…" He muttered as he went around to the side and pressed a button on the left side of the unit.

The drone nodded and simply waited while Jeremy exposed a section of its head, removing the armored panels and showing its internal mechanisms and cybernetics.

"Where is it… where is it…" He complained as he grunted and struggled to grab at something blind, until he cheered in success. "There… found the little bugger!"

He cheered and smacked something inside the drone, which caused the equipment the agents were holding to stop beeping.

"There we go… finally shut that thing off." He exclaimed as he tapped the button and closed up the drone's head.

"Agent Kuala, the signal's stopped transmitting." One of the other agents said quietly.

"What?" She snapped and looked for herself, pushing several switches and buttons and trying to find the signal again, but nothing happened. "It's… gone…"

"Yea, I'm sorry but my drone suffered a malfunction while it was out here, it probably bumped its head on something and was sending out a distress signal on a wide band. Sentinel my facility's base AI has been constantly telling me that a drone was in distress out here and was asking for assistance for days. Wouldn't shut up about it, Stu and Bonnie's dinner invitation gave me an excuse to finally come out here and shut it up. I completely forgot about it though when everything happened yesterday, my apologies." He said with an apologetic chuckle. "Human tech, what can I say… sometimes its reliable and sometimes it just acts stupid!"

He then turned to the drone and said in a serious tone, "Now drone, no more sending out distress signals unless you are truly in distress and require assistance. Am I clear?"

**[Yes, unit Jeremy, this unit will obey your order.]** It stated.

"Great, alright everyone let's get going, have to get Judy and Nick back in time for work! And if I remember your agent has you down for some kind of modelling session right Gazelle?"

"Yep, let's get going, can't keep my agent waiting." She replied with a chuckle as they all started leaving to return to the carriage and head back to Zootopia.

(Kuala's PoV)

She stared and watched Jeremy leaving with all of his party and his drones, minus the one still standing guard over the seed planted in the ground. She and her team had watched them all night, none of them did anything suspicious, and now apparently his 'drone' was the one broadcasting the signal this entire time?

Did they really come out here because one of his 'drones' suffered a simple malfunction?

"Well, seeing as your signal has been discovered and now answered… I guess your warrant to dig up this place is now 'null and void'." Smokey said with a grin. "You have five minutes to vacate the premises, or I'm calling you in."

She growled in anger as she smashed her equipment on the ground and left in a rage, followed by her team.

(Stu's PoV)

Not taking kindly to the agents who left with the Sheriff, he and Bonnie picked up and threw out the equipment before heading into the barn.

"I still can't believe how they got whatever they were looking for past those agent's noses." Bonnie said.

"Honey, when it comes to humans and their fancy tech… we're better off not knowing." Stu said with a smile as he stared at the large hole in the middle of the barn.

It was a rather large tunnel that dug under the barn and for who knows how far, all the dirt was surrounding the entrance, and something was dragged up and out of it.

Now all he had to do was throw all the dirt back into the hole.

(Jeremy's PoV)

They all looked with Aelita in her holosphere at the beautiful stainless-steel sphere with golden rims along its center, and various access ports and lights blinking. The Data Sphere had been buried underneath the Hopps barn far beneath the surface of the earth, so deep that the ANTs which had been digging almost since they arrived had 'only' just recovered it fifteen minutes before they all woke up. And narrowly got it inside the carriage before the agents arrived under the cover of Holograms cast by the FOX drones.

But their effort had been worth it, as when Aelita made contact with the sphere, she deactivated the homing beacon so that the drone could cover for the sphere's recovery and get the government away from Judy's family farm.

Aelita stared in awe and wonder at the sphere, her eyes gazing at something from humanity's golden age of peace. Just like the Solar Core, this sphere contained data, information, knowledge from humanity's golden age when they were still at the height of their power, before the Final War.

"So that's what you came out here for?" Judy muttered. "Have to say… I didn't expect it to be that big."

"Bigger than a Hoop Ball Judy, what are you saying?" Nick said in a chuckle.

"Well don't keep us in suspense, what's inside of it?" Gazelle asked eagerly.

"Let's see… if I remember, from the schematics the access port would be… here…" He muttered as he found the port and hit a button.

Instantly it lit up and above it cast a holographic cube. The cube was segmented, with each side featuring a different color, in total six colors with each side having nine segments.

"Huh… must be some kind of access code, I can't figure it out it's nothing I'm familiar with." He muttered as he stared in confusion as to the cube's purpose. "I'm not familiar with this kind of encryption algorithm, it's nothing I've ever seen before."

None of the sides were similar, some had three or four differently colored squares, and some had two or more, all in strange patterns and organized differently.

"Aelita try and run a bypass and see if we can't…"

Instantly the cube started changing and shifting around, rotating constantly as each row or side changed and swapped around until after over a hundred rotations and shifts, the cube featured each side a solid color. Then the cube vanished and opened an access port.

"What'd you do?" He asked Aelita.

She grinned as she played something for them all, an old 'commercial' from humankind's past, featuring a product similar to what the hologram portrayed, something called a 'Rubik's Cube'.

"Why would they use a 'toy' to encrypt something containing who knows 'what' kind of data may be inside of it?"

Then he realized why, it didn't contain any military information if that was the encryption used to protect the data. "Because it wasn't meant to be hard to crack… they 'wanted' us to access it, but they also wanted to make sure that if anyone accessed it, they would be friendly enough to understand… 'why' it was buried." He said warmly. "Aelita… access the data for us please?"

She nodded and her holosphere lit up, in response the Data Sphere also responded, and glowed to indicate that she had connected to it and was now accessing the data, downloading into her memory core. She then gasped as her eyes went wide in shock.

"Aelita?" He asked, not knowing why she was acting that way. "What's wrong?"

She turned to him with her eyes still wide, crying tears as she stared at him.

"Aelita?" Gazelle muttered in fear.

"What'd you find?"

Her look of shock and tears changed, as her frown turned to a massive smile… and extended her hand to cast a holographic image for them all to view.

The image was hazy, grey and rather silent, but after a while they saw on an old styled recording of a human rocket, blasting off...

"What is…" Judy muttered in confusion as she tried to focus and see what they were all seeing.

"Shh…" Donny whispered as they started hearing some noises.

"_Okay there we can see you coming down the ladder now…"_ A voice said over the silence, while they saw what looked like some human in a weird, oversized suit on a dark grey surface with a giant spotlight showing on them in the background.

"_I'm uh, at the foot of the ladder… The LM Footpads are only uh, depressed in the surface about 1 or 2 inches."_

He stared in awe… as subconsciously, he understood without ever once seeing this footage his entire life… what was happening.

"_I'm going to step off the LM now."_ The man said.

Then…

"_That's one small step for a man, one… giant leap for mankind."_

They all watched in amazement, as they all realized… what they had found was worth more, than 'any' amount of money, the world could offer them. The government 'didn't' deserve the treasure trove they'd just found, only Jeremy and Aelita deserved to decide what fate befell the data inside this sphere.

"_Yahoo! Tony, this is so great you can't believe it!"_ Another voice said as they watched the hazy footage showing the surface of the moon, and them rolling around in what looked like a small rugby vehicle.

"_Oh, I believe it Charlie."_

"_It's running John!"_

"_Look at you go would you Charlie!"_

"_You've got all your steering its great!"_

"_Ah, this is going to be some kind of different ride!"_

He just cried as he watched the footage, just crying in happiness as he saw his people, saw they had gone to the moon. He knew they had… but to see the 'actual' footage, of going to the moon, them landing on it… and seeing the surface from the lens of time…

Then it changed to show the human hopping around on the moon because of the low gravity environment.

"_Hippity-hoppity, hippity-hoppity, hippity-hopping over the hill and dale."_

Judy giggled a little even as she cried alongside Jeremy and the others.

"_Da da da da da da da da da, Hippity hopping all along."_

The footage changed to what looked like the landing craft on the moon sitting on the surface of the moon.

"_One Ignition."_

Something happened that caused the upper portion to burst and float away from the lower portion, and the camera moved to follow it.

"_We're on our way Houston."_

"_Things are good. Looks good. Gotcha!"_

It changed once more and showed three 'enormous' parachutes slowly lowering the pod over the ocean water.

"_Stand by for flag down…"_

The craft landed and the parachutes all floated and flopped into the water.

"_Recovery. A Landing. Staaaaandby!"_

The footage ended and it showed a more modern setting with a single human wearing a suit and tie, who sat in a chair and waved at the camera. _"Hello there, who I am doesn't matter… what matters is… that you found this Data Sphere."_ He said with a smile. _"Hopefully whoever you are, the world is better off than the way 'we' left it, that is all that any human can hope for in their life. To leave the world in a better state for those who will come after them, and who in turn… will do the same, so that our world, this lonely blue marble in all the galaxy, the only one we humans know of as home… will be better for future generations. Everything on this sphere, has been recorded and downloaded from everyday ordinary citizens from around the nation, as other nations are doing… to leave a message for our future generations to see."_

"_Each message is different… each message is special… all we ask is that you listen and remember what your parents or grandparents, or even great great great grandparents were like, so that you can know what life was like in 'my' time'. I have a message as well… but I'm not going to waste it with some boring speech about how you carry the hopes of our generation…"_

He grinned as music suddenly started playing.

"_My message is… 'do you still 'dance' like they did in 'my' grandparents' days."_ He said as he jumped off the chair and kicked it away, while mouthing. _"Oh don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me. I said, your holding back, she said, SHUT UP AND DANCE WITH ME!"_

He was then joined by other people who were also singing and dancing to the music.

And with that, they spent the rest of the trip watching 'messages' from the past, all the way to Zootopia, simply enjoying the treasure trove they had found.


	32. Drone Chapter 5

_Where can I bury all of my suffering… Casualties of poison and pride…_

_Where is the line between losing everything… And giving it all to say that you've tried…_

_When I dared to dream of something greater… I flew away into the sky…_

_Nothing's going to fill the space between you and I… And I felt the world grow so much colder…_

_As we drifted away over time… living in the past, in our apocalypse state of mind…_

Sable and the Humbling River = Epilogue

(Sable's PoV)

He slowly walked toward the front door of Gazelle's home, knowing that he wasn't going to be welcomed and knowing that he deserved what they would say to him. But he knew that he 'had' to confront them, and make amends for his past mistakes. He had to in order to do what he was trying to do. This was the first time he ever actually went to Gazelle's home, her home not being as 'impressive' as what he had, or used to have as he was now selling his home to raise money to start up his movie studio and to help publish his own book, at the same time he was going to take out some loans to help pay for everything.

'_How things have changed…'_ He thought to himself as he reached her front door and rang the bell.

It was several minutes until he heard the door unlock and saw Gazelle open it to greet him with a warm expression, which quickly changed to a look of distrust. "Hello Sable, what brings you here?" She asked, but with an uncharacteristic tone of 'dislike'.

'_Then again, you kind of deserve it for what you did…'_He thought to himself. "I was wondering if I could talk to you and Jeremy… about something important, as well as apologize for how I treated him in the past."

She looked skeptical, but she nodded and opened the door to let him in, closing it as he walked through.

"Take a seat Sable, I'll make some tea." She said to him. "Jeremy is still asleep, we were discussing things with the mayor and talking late last night, so he's sleeping in this morning."

"I see." He muttered as he sat at the table. "When did you start making tea, I thought you were more of a fruit juice drinker?"

"I started learning when I learned Jeremy can't drink cold beverages." She told him while tending to the pot. "Ever since he froze up when he touched a cold glass of pineapple juice that I tried to give him; I refuse to drink anything cold while with him."

"Oh… I see." He replied, remembering how he flung a cold glass of water at him in a fit of jealous rage. "Listen… can I ask you something personal?"

"That depends on how personal it is?" She said with a frown.

"What was it that made you fall in love with him?" He asked nervously. "Like… I was trying for 'weeks' to date you… before he ever appeared, and yet he…"

"Won my heart with little effort?" She asked while crossing her arms, before sighing and choosing to wait until the tea was prepared and poured for them before answering. "Sable, that's one reason 'why' I love him, he wasn't trying to win my heart, he actually tried to push away from me and me from him 'because' he cared about me."

He looked at her and saw the sad look on her face that told the story without needing to hear it, but hear it he did.

"He was becoming attracted to me, and I was attracted to him. He was just so honest, so… innocent and… he just 'cared' about everymammal and not for the reasons you might think. He wanted to help every mammal out there, just because he had the ability to help. He also knew that if he and I got together we'd have troubles, between our combined fame, his 'poverty' and my wealth, our species difference, him an Apex Predator and me a Prey mammal… him coming from a time where he was expected to think of the greater good and not himself and well, just 'everything' between us. He got to know me, the 'real' me, not Gazelle the pop idol, Gazelle the peaceful coexistence advocate, Gazelle the model or singer… just Gazelle the Antelope, and I got to know him."

He watched her sip her tea and smile warmly.

"When we finally confessed… it was in his base, we were in the holoroom and he was showing me and some mammals around… we were alone, and he tried so hard… so hard to push me away. Because he didn't want me to suffer with him 'because' I picked him. He would rather have suffered alone, then risk me losing my happiness if I picked him over another mammal. I knew then that I had found the mammal I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, because he cared about 'me' for my sake, not about my money, my fame, or anything else but me."

He sighed as he accepted her answer, and smiled inwardly as he knew he had been outclassed by the human day one when it came to Gazelle's heart. He had to admit that yea sure, they would have made a cute couple for the news and paparazzi, but that was really the only reason he tried to date her. She was pretty and famous; he didn't deserve her because those had been the only reason back then.

After a while Jeremy finally walked downstairs carrying his glowing girl in the sphere, and after a 'rough' introduction, he sat down on one end of the table while she sat between them.

"Well… first thing's first Jeremy, I want to apologize to you for how I treated you at the premier party, and for threatening your life with what I did." He said to the human. "I acted like a jerk, and I don't deserve forgiveness for what I did to you. Me being ignorant of your disease is not an excuse, and even if you say it, I don't deserve it."

"Well I'm going to forgive you either way Sable, because as I said, I was partially responsible, I goaded you into responding the way you did, the blame was with both of us that time, and I forgive you regardless." Jeremy said while his AI friend nodded her head in approval.

He sighed and smiled, knowing he should have expected that.

"So now that that is out of the way, what was the other thing you wanted to talk to me about?"

Sable took a deep breath and looked directly at him with a serious expression and said, "I want to learn more about the Final War from you, and as much as I can about that time period from 'you'." He said.

That caught both him and Gazelle off guard, curiously the AI did not react much, outside of a smirk.

"I want to make a movie about the Final War, so that mammals can see… even if its on a screen, what it was like. And I also want to write a book about that time period, maybe a series of books… I don't know… but I want to tell that story as honestly as I can, with nothing glorified or changed so it can fit some 'preferred' narrative." He said. "I want to know details, what was it like, what the air was like, how the war started, how it changed, how it moved from one time to the final moments, why the drones are the way they are, why they look the way they look 'everything'. And I want to tell it from the perspective of a child, somemammal who would have an unbiased opinion on the war… to walk us through the time period… and show us its horrors."

They sat in silence as he waited for their answer, maybe Jeremy saying something like 'I don't want to relive that time' or 'You don't want to know and it's best it stays that way'.

Instead Jeremy said, "Why do you want to learn about the Final War, what brought about this sudden change Sable?"

Sable sighed as he thought back to his time with Taelia, the mysterious 'human woman' who appeared and offered him a spider's thread of salvation. He decided not to tell him that story, as there was no way he'd believe him even if he did. Who would believe him, especially with his paranoia about those 'machines' watching him day and night?

"I went on a journey for several days, trying to understand suffering of those I never cared to think of." He said. "I saw so much suffering, so much loss, and through it all I had to look inside myself and change who I was so I could understand them."

While Gazelle and Jeremy looked at him with looks of curiosity the AI simply smiled and lay on her stomach, occasionally swaying her legs back and forth.

"That's why I want to learn about the Final War, I want to understand it, I want to understand where a human like 'you' came from… so that other mammals can learn, and understand what happened in the past, so we don't walk the same road you did." He said quietly. "If you'll tell me that is…"

There was silence as they sat waiting on his answer, he knew it would be painful, he understood that the human might not be willing to divulge this information. Honestly, what he saw no doubt 'paled' in comparison to what happened to the humans in the Final War. While great suffering and death occurred, at least the world 'recovered' in those times, but that Final War… there was no recovering from that, else the humans would still be the dominant species and mammals wouldn't be here right now.

After a while Jeremy sighed and looked to the AI, who nodded in understanding and sat cross legged with her eyes glowing.

"The war never started with any declaration, there was no broken treaty, no announcement, nothing like that." He said quietly, and Gazelle got up to make more tea, knowing that this was going to be a long talk. "It just 'happened', one moment simple border skirmishes broke out which were a result of nations trying to fight over ever dwindling resources, such as fossil fuels and other resources slowly became more violent. Then… the thing many humans feared happened, one nation launched a nuclear warhead, then another nation launched one, and soon they started being fired en-mass. Most were intercepted and many major cities had developed powerful shield technology to be protected against frequent hurricanes and other such storms used them against the incoming missiles."

"Those nations which were developed enough to repel the nukes were able to do so, but the scars they left were permanent, and the land became devastated. Those nations that weren't advanced enough, were essentially wiped out in the first volley. After just a few months from the opening salvo whatever semblance of unity between the remaining powers broke down, and it was every nation for itself."

"At first, we tried to fight it with humans, but as the 'rules of war' soon became abandoned, biological weapons were deployed in an attempt to destroy other nations without destroying the land and remaining resources, and this gave way to horrible and damaging effects that humans received." He muttered as he looked away. "Some bioweapons ate into the skin and broke it down… exposing internal organs to irradiated air, resulting in a slow and agonizingly painful death. Others broke down the immune system to such a degree that the body died to even the most harmless of germs. One even dissolved human brain matter… and those were only the most common I read about. I saw the effects of the 'long term' bioweapons, humans suffering from extensive dementia, reduction in bone density and strength, poisoning of vital organs, slow degradation of muscle tissue and ligaments, I saw a young boy who was my age at the time unable to even 'walk' or lift his arms without the assistance of a specialized harness. They had to kill him because eventually his body would be unable to even 'function' properly, and he was in constant pain, unable to even sleep because of the pain he was in."

"When the use of bioweapons became common, we started to construct and deploy mechanical forces more and more over the course of the war to counteract that. The drones became more specialized, more effective, more centralized as time went on. Before there would be a drone for every thousand humans, but by the end of the war there was one human for every thirty drones. Each nation developed their own drone lines, but the more common were those you see in my base, FOX drones, RAPTOR drones, DOG drones, Spider class drones, HARRIER drones just to name a few. However, there were other… more devastating models created but either discontinued due to resource limitations or simply because they weren't worth it."

"Some of the drones developed and deployed through the war… did horrible things that you can't imagine. There was the BOA drone which acted like a suicide unit, wrapping itself around humans from behind and then detonating once they'd had a strong grasp, killing the victim and sending shrapnel pieces everywhere around it, causing horrible injuries and leaving victims unlucky enough to be injured to bleed out and die. The PARASITE line which used what remain of a dead human's nervous system to… mimic an injured human, and then releasing acidic liquids in an explosion, melting flesh… and using the next victim it could find to repeat the process until it ran out… it often used children's bodies because humans were less likely to suspect a child to be a threat. RAT drones which infiltrated cities and poisoned food and water supplies, LIZARD drones which messed with vital power conduits and lines, MOTH drones which spread toxins through the air… and more that I don't even know of and don't remember…"

"Then of course… the Solar Cores, the very heart of so many Mega Cities, were targeted in the war. So many Mega Cities 'depended' on the energy output the Solar Cores provided, that all it took was shutting one down or cutting it off to cripple one, but as was the way of the world, that made them all the more easy to target and destroy. When one was damaged, or upset in some way… it exploded, and took 'everything' around it with it, leaving only a perfectly smooth crater behind. Not even ashes remained of the Solar Cores or the Mega Cities which sat close by, and any city out of range that relied on their power went dark…"

"During the war refugees tried to find safety, salvation… anywhere that they could live away from the war, but as food and water, and above all 'safe places' soon vanished, paranoia and desperation took hold. They tore each other apart, trying to do whatever they could to survive… it wasn't until the end of the war when a DRAGON drone turned on humanity, did the world learn of the Eden Facilities, until then only world leaders and important government individuals knew of them, hoping that the war would end without the need to reveal their locations, but when the Eden Facilities were all that remained to sustain 'any' humans… all the world governments united under a tense but desperate peace."

"If the world slipped back into war, it would be the end of our species and civilization. Every human, was required to be led to the facilities, every human was required to disarm themselves, every single drone was reprogrammed with the Human Protection Protocols to ensure they didn't threaten humanity again, and desperate measures taken to prolong our survival."

"Freedoms were sacrificed, every human was monitored, harsh punishments enacted to 'any' troublemakers, executions were frequent and those who couldn't be saved killed off to reduce the need to feed and house them. Humanitarian morals and beliefs were shoved aside in favor of keeping as many alive as possible. Food rations were constantly reduced until eventually, all we had was a basic, food paste, and it was monitored strictly by the drones and Sentinel Ais to ensure no human exceeded what they needed to 'live'. Any human that tried to resist these measures, were dealt with harshly, killed more often than not… twenty-four-hour surveillance, patrols…"

Jeremy paused in his talking as he looked distraught, and he knew that he was pushing the human's limits regarding how much he could endure with telling him the story. As he steadied himself and calmed down Gazelle held him and shushed his sorrows.

"When I was born… it was decreed that every human, youth mind you, both from the surface and within the facilities, were ordered to undergo higher education while adults tried to fix the damages done to the world, advance research, tend to the injured and sick, and everything else. Long before I was born Nuclear Winter had set in, and it would be at least ten thousand years before it would go away. During that time the air I breathed when on the surface was toxic and I never saw the sun. The one time I did… was when I was thirteen years old, and it would be almost ten years before I saw it again, and both times it had been for about five minutes."

"Growing up, during my schooling, every time it felt like every lesson, I was told with the others that my generation and those after would have to fix the world our predecessors left us. I believed that we'd repair the world, and that saving every life was more important than saving 'any' life. They never let us leave the facility unless it was under supervision, but the times I did leave I saw so much suffering, that all I wanted to do was help those suffering and so I dedicated myself to my studies. Our every activity was scheduled, every lesson carefully structured, everything we were to do predetermined. When it came time that when one thousand of us were told that we'd be cryogenically frozen, and woken up in the future when conditions were better, and that all humans we were leaving behind had agreed to this plan… I truly believed that their sacrifice would not be in vain. I said my goodbyes to my father, any friend I would leave behind, and accepted that the next time I awoke only I and my fellow cryologists would be alive. I vowed from the moment I was frozen, that I would do all I could to fix the world no matter what state it was in. And then I was put into cryogenic sleep, and woke up in your time three hundred and fifty thousand years later."

Jeremy sighed as he looked up at him. "The Final War only lasted ten years, between 2207 and 2217, and when it finally ended, only half a percent of my species survived. From 35 Billion, only about one hundred and seventy five million still remained, and it kept on decreasing even 'after' the final war, due to radiation sickness, lingering bioweapons, internal fights… our population wasn't able to grow fast because some radiations that affected what little food supplies remained made many surface humans sterile, only one in a thousand were capable of having offspring, both male 'and' female."

For a while Sable just simply sat there, letting what he heard sink into his mind. He obviously only had been given the very shortened version of the Final War, but even the short version portrayed something he just could not imagine, or even 'comprehend' happening.

Death on that scale, in such a short time.

He looked into Jeremy's eyes, and saw the sadness in them, the deep hurt and pain within them. He carried so much more weight then what his shoulders were letting on, now he knew 'why' the drones were so desperate to keep him safe and alive. In those blue eyes of Jeremy's he saw all of the hurt he was carrying, suppressing, holding onto because even if he didn't live in that time, because he's the last of his kind he has no choice but to carry that weight.

"Tell me… what was it like living in that time?" He asked.

And so, Jeremy told him, he told him for the rest of the day of the horrors of daily life in and outside of the Eden Facilities. He learned also of what it was like during the Final War, of what ordinary humans went through…

From the fleeing refugee massacres, to the hunting parties driving scavengers and desperate people into kill zones. He learned of how the Raptor drones hunted down both soldier and civilian alike, slaughtering both alike to try and 'force' surrenders on both sides. Raiders trying to steal from refugees killed the innocent and defenseless, and even after the war ended there were 'still' drones obeying their 'extermination' protocols. He learned of the harsh restrictions put onto every human, even those within the Eden Facilities. He learned from the human that there were no festivals of old or celebrations to be had, all that mattered was survival, no luxuries were to be found, any human attempting to horde or steal was 'executed' for threatening the survival of the species. Those deemed 'unsavable' were put down and their names removed, and food rations reallocated to the rest of the survivors.

Any human who died had their body cremated, with no care or concern given to whoever died. No burials were had, no ceremonies held, not even a parting 'goodbye' from family or next of kin, just a message saying, 'this person died', and that they 'tried' to save them. He learned of how the drones were inspired by nature to fit various needs as they were constructed and changed over time to fulfill their roles as both combatants and then police forces to ensure humans were kept in line, how they were reprogrammed to protect humans lives above all else, and even included special rules so they could kill humans if needed to ensure the species would survive as a whole.

All of that and more he learned, such that by the time he finally finished listening, and heard all that he could get, night had fallen.

While Jeremy remained inside and told him that his AI friend would send all of the recorded data, as well as other things to his computer, he left with Gazelle escorting him out.

"Sable, before you go, I want to ask something."

He turned to her and nodded.

"Where did this change come from, I mean, you are selling your house, your limo, wanting to learn about Jeremy's time and planning to make a movie about it? What happened to you from the last time we spoke at the party?"

"I just changed Gazelle…" He replied as he looked away with a smile. "I know what I'm going to say will sound weird but… when I was at my lowest, I 'begged', for somemammal to tell me what I needed to do so I could live a normal life again after what happened."

He looked up at the moon and smiled, imagining Taelia staring at him with her usual sly and seductive look, chuckling as he tried to explain what happened to Gazelle in a way that didn't make him sound insane.

"And I found somemammal come to me, and offered me a choice, a 'spider's thread' of salvation as she put it. She said, 'become someone else for the chance of redemption, or stay your course and sink even further into the pit you jumped into'. So, I took the thread, and for over a week I followed her on a journey, and at the end of it, those I helped to become better, helped me cross a river and watched me redeem myself." He looked back at her with a warm smile. "In short Gazelle, I looked into a mirror, saw somemammal I didn't like, and I made a change so I would like who it was staring back at me."

Gazelle looked a little surprised at his words but smiled back at him in approval.

"Listen, before I go, I was wondering Gazelle, would you be interested in voicing one of the lead characters in my movie?" He asked her.

"What, wh- why me?"

"I figured if anymammal would be interested in making a movie about Humans, you would be considering." He said honestly. "Please, I really want to do justice to Jeremy's species… considering…"

Her expression softened and she nodded in approval. "I was wrong about you Sable, you're not the selfish jerk I remembered you being."

"No but I'm still jealous of Jeremy." He chuckled as he turned to leave. "He has such a beautiful mammal like you all to himself."

She chuckled as he walked off and got into his rented car, driving off back to his home that would remain his home until he found a buyer. Then he logged onto his computer and looked at all of the recordings and data that had been sent to him by the AI, not even questioning how she knew where to send it, just accepting that the AI had her ways. He made himself a cup of coffee, sat down and started typing away for his script for the movie he was going to name…

"Hmmm, what do I name it?" He said as he looked up what names the drones had.

He paused as he looked at one name a Raptor class drone had, and chuckled as he couldn't think of a more appropriate name.

"The Final War : AN-931…" He muttered.

With that he began typing his script…

"Who I am and what my name is does not matter… what matters, is the story you are about to be told, might have happened, could have happened, and may very well have happened. This is the story… of the Final War…"

The FOX Father

(FOX Unit DA-43's PoV)

It wandered through Zootopia Central Park, observing and cataloguing the terrain and various features of the landscape, alongside multiple FOX drones all doing the same thing in other sectors divided up by Sentinel. Under orders by Unit Jeremy, it and seven FOX drones were tasked with surveying the land and giving Sentinel a complete picture of the terrain for an upcoming project. The successful accuracy of their task would determine the overall operation's success, and this task being directly assigned to them by Unit Jeremy was of the highest priority. They had been at it all day, and were nearing completion.

"Hey, isn't that one of the human's machines?" A hippopotamus youth asked suddenly.

In response it turned to look at said youth and its parental figure, before returning to surveying a group of bushes and trees, cataloguing their position, various dimensions and potential weights, physical compositions and other various aspects.

"It is son, looks busy so let's just leave it alone." The parental figure said quietly.

"But I want to say hi to it!"

"I said no, now come on, just leave it alone, it looks like it doesn't want to be bothered."

It turned and watched them walking away, before again returning to its surveillance.

All day it and the other units were being interrupted or on some occasion accosted by mammals about their purpose in Central Park, slowing down their overall progress. If they had been left alone and able to ignore all the mammals, the task would have been done seven hours ago, but as Unit Jeremy had ordered them to regard mammals on the same level as humans they were now 'required' to at least 'acknowledge' the mammal's presence in their work. One unit had been interrogated by ZPD as to why they were there, news media outlets trying to interview another unit, and the rest being asked random questions by various mammals.

It was no exception to these interruptions, several mammals asked it questions like what it was doing in central park, why was it looking at trees and bushes and even staring at patches of grass, and other such questions.

Thirty minutes after finishing surveying the section of land it had been scanning and cataloguing, it got up and moved on to another sector that hadn't been surveyed yet, and began surveying again.

"Wait for me Prim!" A youth voice called out, once again catching the drone's attention as it turned to investigate the sound.

"Yea wait up!"

Off to the side playing near the outer edge of the park that it was surveying were a trio of Fox cubs, two males and one female. They were all playing together without adult supervision, at least until it saw an adult Fox sitting on a nearby park bench. Since the adult was nearby, it returned its attention to the task at hand and resumed scanning.

"Whoa look at that!" The youth identified as 'Prim' said as he spotted it.

"Hey, isn't that a human machine?"

"Wow, I've never seen one this close before, aside from those really scary ones."

"It looks like us… you think it's friendly?"

"You should say hi to it Prim."

"Why me?"

"Because you saw it first!"

After a while it heard the youth approaching it slowly and turned to watch the youth named 'Prim' draw closer. Once he was close enough, he walked forward and said nervously, "Uh… hi?"

It tilted its head and replied, **[Greetings.]** in response.

"So… are you a human machine?" He asked as the others now approached.

**[This unit is a FOX drone version number two hundred and fifteen, a drone line developed by Sidewinder Robotics Industries during the year 2211 to serve in the United States Empire forces but was also developed for six other nations during the Final War.]** It replied instantly.

When the three fox cubs look confused it simplified the answer.

**[This unit is a human machine.]**

"So… what are you doing here?" Prim asked curiously.

**[Surveying and cataloguing the terrain's various details in this sector while other FOX units are doing the same in other sectors in order to make a complete report to Sentinel and Unit Jeremy for a future project that he is currently in discussion with the Mayor about and the details of which are currently classified.]**

When the cub youths once again looked clueless it simplified the answer.

**[Studying the park at Unit Jeremy's orders.]**

"Wow, and you can do that just by looking?" The female fox said in awe.

**[This unit has been recently upgraded with new optic sensors that are capable of analyzing the terrain composition, height, physical composition of various foliage and various…]** It started saying when it noticed, as before, the youths were clueless about its explanation.

So once more it simplified the answer.

**[Yes, this unit can do that just by looking.]**

"I swear you sound like this one character on a geek show Prim watches." The other male cub teased.

"It's not a geek show!" Prim responded.

"Coulda fooled us!" The female cub giggled.

It just observed them for a bit longer until the trio finally said goodbye and left it to carry on with its work. After about half an hour it started to get dark and it 'finally' concluded its surveillance of the sector, transmitted the data to Sentinel, and started to leave the park and return to the facility, when it spotted the trio of cub youths preparing to leave.

"Hey, do you want us to take you home Prim?" The adult father asked the youth named 'Prim'.

"No thank you Mister Tom, I live close by, thanks for inviting me!" Prim shouted as he ran off on his own to leave the park.

As it watched the cub on its own, with no supervising adults or parental figure nearby, the Child Care Protocols installed into it activated and it followed after the youth to make sure the cub was returned safe and sound to a parental figure.

**[And where are you off too little one?]** It called in a chiding but gentle voice.

The cub stopped and turned to stare in shock as it followed after him, looking up at the youth from its low stance position.

"What did you call me?" He asked.

**[This unit called you 'little one', because you're so little.]** It said sweetly. **[So where are you off too little one?]**

"Uh… I'm heading home." He said quietly.

**[Why aren't you walking home with your parent, where are they? Little children like you should never walk home alone.]**

"Hey, I'm not a helpless little cub you know, I've walked home before on my own and I can handle myself just fine!"

**[That may be… but you are still a young child.]** It stated as it got up and strolled next to him. **[So, this unit will walk you home!]**

"Fine…" He said in annoyance as he walked on, followed by the drone which marched in step.

As they walked down the street onlookers stared at them and even a few made little remarks about them, but while the youth did his best to avoid them and ignore them, the drone marched onward, oblivious to all but the youth.

"Hey… can I ask you something?" He asked quietly. "You've seen a lot of mammals, right?"

**[Yes, this unit has observed many mammals.]**

"There's this one fox I've been trying to find… I met him in an alley… he also called me 'little one', and he… helped me. He helped me deal with some bullies, and talked with me, spent time with me… even played games with me but I only ever met him in that alley." He muttered quietly. "Then one day I just never saw him again… I've searched all over Zootopia, asked around but… nomammal has ever seen them. I even tried asking ZPD if they knew of a fox that I met, do you perhaps… did you or any of you drones ever happen to see an adult fox like that?"

**[Describe him to this unit, and it will ask the other FOX units if they have observed such a mammal.] **It asked, and was given the individual's descriptions. **[Negative, this unit has never met a fox with that resemblance, nor have the other units observed such a fox.]**

"Oh… I see… I was hoping to meet him again." He muttered sadly. "I want my mom to be happy and… I was hoping maybe… she'd like him too, and maybe we could..."

They continued walking until they neared a packed street with parked cars and vans for much larger mammals. In a break in the vehicles the cub noticed a female adult fox on the opposite side of the street, causing him to stop quickly. "Hey, that's my mom, HEY MOM!"

Said 'mother' paused and turned to them and waved at them. "What's that with you?" She called out.

"It's a human machine, one of those drones, it was studying the park for Jeremy and offered to walk me home!" He yelled happily.

"Well stay there I'll come walk you back home before going to work honey!"

"That's okay I'll just cross over!" He shouted back before turning to him. "Thanks for walking me, but I'll be fine here."

**[As you wish, this unit will remain here until you have reached your mother.]** It said warmly.

"Hey what's your name by the way?"

**[This unit is identified as DA-43.]**

"Thanks DA-43, take care!" He said warmly as he started to cross the street to his mother.

What the cub didn't know as he was running, which the drone did, was a large twenty-wheeler truck heavily loaded with cargo making its way rapidly down the street. The cub was hidden by the large vehicles parked, and the drone noticed that the driver could not see the cub, and according to its calculations… would not stop in time to avoid hitting the cub at this rate.

It turned and yelled **[PRIM!]** as it got up and jumped after the cub, who was already now in the street… and turned to see the oncoming truck.

(Prim and his Mother's PoV)

Prim was running out into the street to cross quickly, and heard the sound of a massive truck barreling toward him too late. He turned and saw, in slow motion as the truck careened toward him, honking its horn as it's breaks screeched in desperation. He heard his mother screaming in panic as she tried to rush out to him.

Then he felt somemammal shove him with small but heavy paws, and then kick him with another set of paws, causing him to be shoved into the middle of the road and on his side. He saw in slow motion, the small drone kick off him to land where he had been seconds ago… as if time were slowing down so he could observe his rescuer, see it in full detail as it landed and stared at him.

Then time started back up again…

-BEEEEEEEEEE-

-Krsaaaaaagnnnnhg-

In the blink of an eye the drone was 'gone', the truck running over the drone's small form with all of the tires on its sides and sending pieces and parts flying everywhere while it screeched to a halt.

He just gasped in shock as he stared at the drone, or what was the drone scattered across the street as mammals started converging on the scene. His mother ran over and dragged him to his feet and looked alongside other mammals now, while the driver stepped and rushed over to them.

"A-Are you okay?" The Rhino yelled in fear.

"I… I'm fine." He muttered.

"That… that drone just saved my boy's life."

"Drone?" He asked as he looked and realized what he'd hit. "Oh… no…"

His mother got up and together ran with the rhino to his van. Across the street at various points, broken pieces and damaged components littered the street, many crushed and broken in various states. They saw two pieces of what looked like a leg, another of a tail, half another paw, half of its body bent and crushed… and then finally found the head.

The drone's head had remained 'mostly' intact, but a section had been caved in and sparked occasionally.

"Oh no, that's one of Jeremy's drones… what have I done?" The rhino yelled in fear.

Yet, a section of the drone's body was giving off a faint glowing light, and lit up the head section, and started casting various broken, disjointed, faded images. They saw a Rhino, a box, a lamp, a bush, a tree… and for just the briefest of moments…

They saw an adult male fox, wearing simple jeans and a jacket, in place of the Fox drone's head, before it returned.

Prim stared in shock, as 'that' was the adult fox he had described to the drone, but it said neither it nor it's fellow drones ever saw a fox like that.

While his mother started ringing the police to tell them what happened, he stepped over to the drone's head and picked it up, turning to stare into its face. It's eyes, or one of them, was blinking constantly, shining a blue light as it did while the other was shattered and damaged, sparking and exposing wires inside.

**[Y-y-yo-yo-your moo th-th-ther… loves… you… li-li-ttle one…]** It said, in a disjointed voice. **[She… lo-lo-lo-lo-ves you… very… much.]**

He just stared as he looked at the drone. "You… 'you're' the fox who…"

**[Go ho-om-om-om-ome… and do do do do do not… cross the st-st-ree-e-e-et… without… looking-ing-inging both waaaaysssszzzzh…]** It said soothingly, as its eyes went dark.

"Hey… wake up… wake up!" He said tearfully as he shook its head. "You guys are supposed to be indestructible… you can't die… you can't be dead! They said in the news your indestructible!"

He cried as he tried to make the drone wake up, but nothing he did made it wake up. Within minutes mammals along the street were yelling and getting out of the way, as seven 'other' fox drones ran toward their fallen friend.

They looked over the pieces and then looked at the head he was carrying. **[Attention, drop any and all parts or components relating to this unit's frame on the ground and step away!]**

He nodded and tentatively placed the head on the ground while the Rhino and every other mammal backed away. As they did the drones circled the accident and began casting what looked like a rope with the words 'keep out' between them, creating a ring around the broken pieces.

**[Area is secured, all mammals will stay 'out' of the assigned zone until further notice!]** One drone declared. **[Sending out Salvage Request signal… all units maintain perimeter until further notice!]**

**[Order acknowledged!]** They all yelled in unison.

"Prim come here." His mother said as she pulled him away from the drones.

He looked at his mother with teary eyes as she held him close. "Mom… I think… I think I 'know' that drone."

"What?" She asked.

"It… it looked, like that fox I told you about… you remember, the guy who helped me?" He asked quietly and she nodded. "Well… for a moment, he 'looked' like him… but he said he never met him… and yet he looked 'exactly'…"

She understood, having watched the drone's actions and seen what they could do, that one had created a hologram of the fox and rescued her when she was being assaulted. But it said it would 'never' go near her or her son, and warned her to avoid searching for it. Yet she had to be certain.

"Did it give you a name?"

"He said he was called… DA-43."

It was her turn to cry as she looked at the broken body of the drone that saved her son's life, sacrificing itself without hesitation to save him. If it hadn't walked him to her… then…

She pulled him tightly as ZPD arrived and started trying to figure out what was going on. "He was… he 'was' that male fox son." She whispered to him. "He was… he 'was' that fox you told me about… I met him… he saved me from a rapist… he 'was' that guy who helped you!"

After about ten minutes mammals and even ZPD started getting out of the way as a trio of drones, two Dog drones and a Raptor came running into the street with the dogs dragging a long sled propped on metal wheels while the Raptor carried a container filled with tiny robots all arrayed in a spiral pattern. All of them had miniature lights on their heads, and all had the same insignia of EF 17 – Salvage Team 3 imprinted on their bodies.

**[All mammal units will step back now!]** The raptor said with glowing yellow eyes, and they did as it said while the dogs pulled the sled p to the outlined space the Fox drones had created. **[Deploying ANT drones…]**

Then the drone carrying the container planted it on the floor, and a small robot walked up and stared at it.

**[Area is secured, you may commence salvage operations ANT Commander.]**

Said 'Ant Commander' nodded and turned to climb down, while hundreds of other similar Ant drones started walking and going around collecting pieces, parts, and other various portions of the drone that was destroyed. When they took the head of DA-43 and loaded it onto the sled, Prim walked up and nervously asked the 'leader', the tallest drone known as a Raptor, "Are you going to help him?"

The Raptor turned and stared back at him with yellow eyes. **[No drone possesses the capabilities to initiate repairs on another drone, only a human can repair a drone.]**

"But Jeremy can fix him right, he can save him, right?"

**[Any drone can be repaired if enough components are in a state that can be repaired, and if the drone's active memory core is still intact, any drone can be 'repaired'.]** It said. **[It falls to the human actively on duty to determine if a drone is to be repaired or not.]**

"What happens if Jeremy says not to repair him?" He asked worriedly.

**[Then the unit will be broken down and salvaged for useful components and materials, and its ID wiped from all memory banks.]**

"But… but he's alive… you can't just let him die!" He said.

**[Drones are not alive.]** It stated before turned and walking away.

All Prim could do was watch as DA-43 was slowly picked up, piece by piece, and placed onto the sled. When the street had been cleared of the drone that saved his life, the drones all packed up and started leaving.

"Will Jeremy save him?" He pleaded with the raptor again.

The raptor turned and responded, **[If unit Jeremy wishes to rebuild the drone, he will do so. If Sentinel examines the salvaged components and determines the damage is too extensive, then unit Jeremy will be skipped, and the drone broken down and salvaged.]**

"Can you tell Jeremy to save him please?" He begged.

There was silence as the drones finished forming up, and then it nodded. **[This unit will inform Unit Jeremy immediately of DA-43's condition, and request his immediate attention.]** It stated before taking the lead position and yelling, **[All units, return to Eden Facility 17, move out!]**

Then it and all the other drones left, leaving the mammals behind. He sighed quietly as he walked over to his mother, before noticing on the curb of the sidewalk, a damaged 'eye' that belonged to the drone they'd just picked up. He looked around and saw no other damaged pieces, and figured the drones had left it behind by mistake.

Picking it up he held it in the palm of his hand, held it close to him, and cried sadly. "I'll never be ashamed of my mother ever again… I'll always tell her that I love her… and I promise… I'll never cross the street again, without looking both ways…" He whispered sadly. "Dad…"

(Jeremy's PoV)

He was just starting to fall asleep with Gazelle cuddled next to him when Aelita, who was sitting on her nightstand started signaling him with a ring that she was being messaged. He groggily got up and stared at her as she vanished and was replaced by a RAPTOR's head.

**[Unit Jeremy, your presence is requested at the facility. A drone you ordered to survey Zootopia Central Park was severely damaged by a mammal truck after being hit while saving a fox cub's life.]**

"Umhmm do you have to call me 'now'?" He groaned as Gazelle woke up now looking cranky.

"Mhwhat is it Jeremy?" She asked tiredly.

"Drones from the base, one of my drones was damaged in an accident, they want me to go to the base now." He groaned. "How badly damaged is the unit?"

**[Unit DA-43 has suffered extensive damage; Sentinel suggests immediate salvage operation.]** It stated.

"Then go ahead." He said as he turned around and held Gazelle again.

**[This unit is requesting you examine DA-43 as a fox cub requested this unit personally ask you for your…]**

"Fine…" He muttered as he groaned and got up. "Gazelle I'll be back in a bit."

"Come back soon Jeremy…" She replied as she rolled over and covered herself back up in the blankets, as she was only clad in her panties while sleeping with him at night.

Twenty minutes later he was inside the base examining the destroyed remains of the FOX drone identified as DA-43.

"So, it was hit by a truck huh, must have been very heavily loaded to be able to crush the drone's body and utterly destroy it." He said as he examined the inside of the drone's head to look at the memory core. "Poor drone, it's body wasn't designed to withstand that much sudden pressure."

**[What is your analysis?]** The Salvage RAPTOR requested as he extracted a circuit board and saw how it had been broken in two.

"Well the motherboard is completely shattered, memory circuits are barely intact, and the rest of the body is in pieces. The metal alloys are all twisted and bent in odd angles, and the limb armature is smashed. As for the holo-emitters, those are completely gone, those alone would take me a week to repair." He said quietly. "I'm afraid I can't fix the drone, there's just not enough left to save, have Sentinel start breaking down and salvaging what it can."

**[As you command.]** The drone replied while walking out with him.

"A shame, there's only like… how many FOX drones are in the base?"

**[One hundred and five active FOX drones are serving as Sentinel Drones.]**

"Huh, I thought there was less." He said as the door closed behind him. "I'm just glad nobody was hurt or lost."

Within seven minutes, ANT drones were crawling over the remains of DA-43, slicing off pieces and bits, breaking down and salvaging all that could be salvaged. Those components that could be reused were carried off to a component storage to be assigned. Everything else… was sliced up into small pieces and carried off. As the last bolt was picked up and the room emptied, Sentinel wiped DA-43's id from all memory banks.

With that, the only ones who remained that knew of DA-43's existence as an individual and not just as a FOX drone, were Prim and his mother.

Ema's Bizarre Imagination Pt 3

*Note from the Author, Ema doesn't have an imagination or anything close to one, she is only a drone, this isn't what she sees*

(Ema's PoV)

She stared dully at her opponent as he started growing in size, laughing maniacally as he did while his muscles grew to abnormal size, each of his arms scaling that to half a skyscraper's, his legs growing to nearly fill that of a stadium's, and his bulging abs sporting more muscle than a body builder one might fine in a cliché anime about hot girls not being able to find dates while talking to body builders in said anime.

"Oooooh ho ho ho hahahaha…" He screamed as took one step and caused a massive shockwave to ripple across the planet, creating a devastating earthquake that shattered the entire city and reducing it to rubble. "Look at the POWER I possess! I can devastate millions just by extending my grasp toward them, I can cross oceans as if they were mere puddles, I can crush populations as if they were pebbles!"

He reached down and ripped the ground that she was standing on, causing her to sway ever so slightly while he brought her to stare into his face, which she was dwarfed by magnitudes.

"How can a mere 'insect' like you possibly stop me now? There is 'no' creature I cannot infect, no living entity that I cannot slay… all of your precious knowledge cannot 'hope' to contain the likes of me! Let alone 'defeat me' and all of my infinite power!" He then grinned as he gripped with his other hand to form a fist, and started to bring it toward her to crush her. "And even if you 'could' hurt me, I can easily mutate and make whatever feeble attempt you have to stop me 'meaningless'!"

She walked over to his hand which was still gripping the land she was holding and poked it with her leg, injecting him with a tiny liquid.

He stopped to watch her as she withdrew her leg and stared at him again, then he proceeded to laugh maniacally again. "Hahahaha… was that your best shot… poking me with your little syringe needle?" He shouted as he pulled his fist back to deliver a finishing blow. "Whatever it was you tried to do; I'll just mutate so that whatever pathetic cure you… gahj… gah… hah…"

He stared in shock as his muscles started to break down, his body suddenly developing ulcers and each ulcer suddenly bursting, exploding from pressure and releasing mucus and goop which sprayed everywhere, burning him with each explosion.

"Wh… what is… happening? What did you do to meeee?"

**[*Siiiiiiigh* Having supreme biological and medical knowledge is rather dull… it gets old telling the same story to every disease that tries to be the best in the world.]** She replied as she started lazily walking down his arm, even as the rest of his body was succumbing to its sickness. **[Your nothing compared to Tuberculosis. You've only been around for three hundred years.]**

"But what did you do to me… what is happening?"

**[I infected you with Tuberculosis, didn't you hear me?]** She said dully. **[I can splice and reprogram the genetic code of a disease if I wish so that it can target a 'specific' cell, or in your case… a disease. Now the Tuberculosis is multiplying exponentially within you, attacking you, and since you aren't a multi-leveled organism like a human or a mammal, it doesn't have work very hard to spread or adapt to you…]**

While he screamed and began to fall from the pain she lazily jumped off and started walking away as his body crashed behind her.

**[I hate my job…]** She said dully. **[So boring… being able to cure any disease is such a boring lifestyle.]**

She started walking toward the marketplace which had survived the devastation.

**[Hope I didn't miss bargain day!]**

Gazelle and Ema, Hybrid Future

(Gazelle's PoV)

She sat in her bathroom as she finished using the pregnancy test and was now feverishly staring as it prepared to show whether she was pregnant or not.

"Positive, positive, positive… positive, please be positive?" She muttered, saying the reverse of what some girls might be saying in a similar position.

She watched as the first line appeared, and waited a full five minutes hoping the second would appear, before she sighed and gave in to the inevitable, that she wasn't pregnant. It had been about five days since they had recovered the Data Sphere, which now sat in a box in the attic, inactive and simply taking up space as Aelita had downloaded and copied all of the data stored within. Since then they had been talking with the mayor who wanted to hear about what happened and told her the treasure trove of what had been discovered.

"Negative…" She muttered as she dumped the pregnancy test in the trash.

She walked out of the bathroom and went down to the living room where Jeremy and Aelita were talking to each other about what they were planning with the mayor. When she approached, they looked at her and she sighed and shook her head, telling them both that they didn't succeed.

"I'm sorry Gazelle… it's like I said, we may not be genetically compatible." Jeremy said sadly as she sat next to him and held his hand.

"I'm not giving up yet Jeremy." She said proudly before smiling at him. "Just because we failed this time doesn't mean we won't succeed next time. Birds don't just learn how to fly when they are born, they fall down and get back up to try again." She turned to Aelita who was nodding in agreement when an idea came to her. "Aelita, you know all about humans, do you think maybe you can help us and tell us if we're compatible enough and tell us if there's a way to improve the odds?"

Aelita shook her head before changing into the spider drone Ema, and then changed back with a nod.

"Ema is the medical expert, unlike Aelita who only has a general understanding of human medicine, Ema has the full biological knowledge and medical knowledge, she also has all the tools at her disposal to help us if you want." Jeremy said. "We need to go to the facility anyway, there's something we need to work on. If you want, you can join and talk to Ema before we go to meet with the mayor again?"

"I like that plan." She said with a smile.

With that the two of them with Aelita entered the Solar Carriage and it took them to the facility in under half an hour. Once inside Jeremy stayed in the command center to issue orders to all the ANT drones and get them to work on his projects, while she headed to the medical bay to discuss with Ema her problem.

As she walked into the medical bay the spider drone stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her. **[Oh, look who finally arrives… 'late' to her… may I remind you… 'Weekly Physical Examination'?]** She replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Ema I need to talk to you about pregnancy." She said instantly, not wanting to beat around the bush with the medical drone.

Instantly the drone dropped all pretenses and stared at her with all eight optics shining various colors. **[Oh… I see… well if you're asking no, you're not pregnant.]** She replied while placing a vial she was holding in a special container. **[So, what do you want to ask about, do you want me to tell you about your Estrus Cycle, explain something about peak fertility periods or…]**

"I want to know if it's possible for me and Jeremy to conceive." She said.

**[Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-]**

A distinct ringing sound was heard as Ema stopped moving entirely, and when Gazelle slowly walked over to investigate, she saw that all eight of her optics had a weird blue light with miniature lines of texts in each of them.

"Ema?" She said, slowly waving her hand in front of the drone's optics, thoroughly confused.

**(Attention, the EMA has suffered a serious system's malfunction, restarting the EMA's AI from last known functioning time frame.)** Sentinel declared in the room, and all lights shut off momentarily, before turning back on, with Ema slouching and slowly climbing back to her feet/

**[Did I just blue screen… ugh, that has not happened to me since my 'testing' period.]** She declared. **[Gazelle, did you just ask me something completely outrageous because I can't think of anything that would cause me to blue screen for the first time since I was 'tested' to see what the limits of my AI's understandings were.]**

"I only asked you if you could help me find out if it's possible for me and Jeremy to conceive children together?" She repeated.

**[Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-]**

Again, the distinct ringing sound occurred and all eight of her optics turned blue with lines of miniature text on each of them, while she stood motionless.

**(Attention, the EMA has suffered a serious system's malfunction, restarting the EMA's AI from last known functioning time frame.)**

After a few moments when the room went dark and turned back on, Ema groggily complained before glaring at her. **[Don't ask again, I know what you want 'now'… just don't ask it again…]** She said bitterly. **[And not a word to Jeremy… if he finds out I blue screened 'twice' in ten minutes, I can't even think of how pathetic that is… a category 4 blue screening?]**

She shook her head and slowly stood before her and asked her to tell her 'slowly', why she was asking about the subject of cross breeding.

**[I see… so you two started going out and had sexual intercourse with one another, and more recently during your Estrus Cycle.]** She said politely to her once she understood her predicament. **[And now you're wondering why, even after you two had intercourse throughout the entirety of your most fertile time period, your test came up negative?]**

"Yes… he's not..." she started saying while having a worrisome thought cross her mind.

**[No, he's not sterile if that's what you're wondering, being sterile would have automatically marked him as a non-viable candidate for the Cryogenic Solution.]** She said dully while she scanned her and did other things. **[No… what this is, is a case of genetic incompatibility probably…]**

"Probably?" She asked.

**[Yes, I haven't done any research because… well it wasn't needed… Jeremy wasn't intending to cross breed before now.]** She said. **[Give me a bit… I need to call up one of Jeremy's genetic records we have on file.]**

She walked over to the monitor and tapped a few buttons before various DNA patterns appeared with his name on it.

**[Now I analyze 'your' genetic records…]**

Next to his DNA patterns hers appeared, with her name on the file.

**[Compare the two and…]**

After the two were placed atop one another various calculations, symbols, words and other such 'medical terminology' that she couldn't understand sped across the screen before they blinked and green circle appeared.

**[Congratulations… you two are genetically compatible enough to conceive.]**

Seeing that circle and the words 'genetic compatibility test successful', caused her to breathe a sigh of relief. They 'could' have children…

**[And the probability of you two conceiving is…]** She said as numbers appeared now. **[0.04 percent.]**

Those last few words shattered what little relief she was feeling instantly. "W… why so low?" She muttered fearfully.

**[Look, you're dealing with genetics from three hundred and fifty thousand years ago, evolution… takes 'time'.]** Ema said sadly. **[Yes, you two are compatible, during Jeremy's time the possibility was zero, but enough time has passed and your species has evolved enough to make conception possible, but you two are such entirely different species that your body is 'rejecting' his genes.]** The drone turned and tapped a few buttons and brought up a 'simulation' for her.

The simulation started which featured what looked like a small 'egg' zoomed in close up, and she understood that it was simulating her body during conception.

**[Under normal circumstances your egg sends out various chemical signals for sperm to either 'approach' it, or to keep them away. It's a game of chance at that point… however your genes are so different, that your body is actively 'rejecting' Jeremy's sperm before they can get close, sending out powerful chemicals to keep them away.]**

She watched as Jeremy's sperm slowly tried to swarm her egg, but it was like they hit an invisible barrier and just either swam or lingered around. The simulation sped up and showed no activity change, until eventually the sperm started dying off, leaving her egg untouched.

**[Unless your egg permits them to approach, they can't impregnate you…]** Ema said as she ended the simulation.

She stared painfully at the simulation, partially hating her body for rejecting the love of her life, and feeling devastated that her own body would not give what she wanted now more than ever before. "Isn't there something you can do to make my body accept him?" She pleaded hopefully.

**[If I do that, I must alter your genetic code… and that could have 'dangerous' repercussions, which I will not risk due to the nature of what your suggesting.]** She stated slowly and clearly. **[If I alter your genetics to make you more compatible with him, or vice versa, I could seriously damage you both in a way that would be irreversible. There's a reason why I could only produce a single, genetically modified seed for Jeremy's father… because the rest I used to make that single seed possible were all lost. We used the 'entire' stock to create it, that was meant to be preserved for the other 'sixteen' Eden Facilities.]**

The way the drone said it, was in a tone of finality, meaning the only way she would 'ever' change her mind was if Jeremy either ordered her to do it, or reprogrammed her to do it. She felt the nails in the coffin for her hope of having a family with Jeremy being hammered in one after another, and just sat heavily onto a Biobed to try and console herself.

**[But if you want… and your willing to wait… I can start uh… researching ways to… improve the odds.]** Ema said politely.

She looked at the drone instantly at those words, newfound hope returning. "Can you do that?"

**[It will take time, what with my other work that Jeremy keeps me piled with.]** She said warmly while wrapping a leg around her shoulder. **[But, by your next Estrus I 'should' have a way to improve the odds… but I will be honest with you, the odds will only be 'slightly' improved, nothing big, but you'll have a much better chance with 'my' medicine than you would if you took 'mammal' medicine. Which would only improve the odds by about less than half of what your current odds are now.]**

She nodded gratefully, knowing the drone was just doing her job, and trying to help her out as best she could. "Ema… you ran a simulation… do you think you could… perhaps run a simulation of what 'if' Jeremy and I succeeded?" She asked curiously.

**[You want me to show you what your offspring would look like?]** She asked in surprise. **[Well… now that you mention it, I am curious myself, I've used the simulation to show offspring potential between humans in the past, but never tried it with an animal… or 'mammal' in this day and age now.]** She said while extending a leg toward her lower stomach region. **[I'll need a tiny sample from your womb to properly prepare the simulation.]**

After she exposed herself and Ema pressed her leg to where her womb was, she felt a sharp prick for a tiny moment, before the drone called up Jeremy's records for his sperm sample.

**[Alright… let's put the two into the simulation and input the data…]** She muttered while typing a few buttons. **[Alright let's begin, maximum fertility potential for argument's sake, Jeremy's sperm have entered the womb, your egg is 'not' driving them away and is sending out chemicals to get them to swarm it…]**

She watched as her egg sat in the simulation and was then swarmed in seconds by Jeremy's sperm, all wiggling frantically.

**[Pardon the humor because it's required but ooooh look at em goooo, wiggle wiggle wiggle… go little ones go!]** She chuckled causing Gazelle to laugh as well. **[And the sperm now fight to break into the mammal equivalent of the Zona Pellucida… they struggle… and…]**

She zoomed in on one sperm as it touched the egg cell membrane, snuggly laying across it and being absorbed now into the egg.

**[And after the perilous journey of traveling from Jeremy into Gazelle, this sperm now fertilizes the egg… causing chemical reactions which prevent the 'other' sperm from doing the same… fast forward aaaand…]**

The simulation sped up to show the egg slowly changing overtime.

**[First stage…]**

Not much change.

**[Second stage…]**

The egg was now bigger and more 'defined'.

**[Third stage… fourth stage… Fifth… sixth…]**

Gazelle watched, no longer giggling as her future potential child took shape, going from this tiny sphere to a lump, slowly taking shape into…

**[Seventh… incredible…]** Ema muttered, **[This is around the sixteenth week mind you…]**

In the seventh stage Gazelle saw that her offspring between her and Jeremy, had a very distinct 'human' appearance, but she noticed, two very tiny 'stubs' on top of its head. It was still a very fleshy lump but even in this stage she could tell that hers and Jeremy's child was a clear fusion of 'both' of them.

**[Eighth stage… now advancing to the thirty-fifth week… in human times mind you I can't properly calculate for mammal pregnancy stages…]**

In the eighth stage, their child was now more defined, the stubs were still there, representing her antlers, but instead of obvious human ears her child featured 'antelope' ears poking from the top, but they were more rounded and slightly larger than what hers were. Yet most of the body was still very human by comparison.

**[And finally, ninth stage…]**

In the final stage her child now looked like a very small human child, but the feet resembled hers more, while the face, shoulders and overall body was narrower, again like hers. But other than the two stubs, on her child's head, the feet, and with exception to tiny tufts of fur along the elbows, shoulder and knees, the child was more 'human' than 'mammal'.

**[I have to say… I'm impressed by how much of the human form is still there. I guess Jeremy's genes are the more dominant between you two, meaning any offspring he'll have will pretty much share his form, and only inherit traits from you. Well… at least until another mammal with more dominant genes comes along and alters it more, but that level of change won't come for at least ten generations...]**

Gazelle however was just staring in awe as she looked at her child, unborn and only a simulation… but she just had this connection, this strange sensation that she was looking at her child, her 'future' child. She pushed her hand against the screen and just stared at it, while the other held her stomach, as if for some reason she could feel the simulated child resting within her.

"It's… not human or mammal… it's like a hybrid of both of us!"

**[And it's a girl.]** Ema said. **[The simulation calculates that your genes lean more toward the female side, so most of your offspring will be female.]**

"A girl…" She whispered happily. "She's so beautiful Ema… she's just… beautiful."

**[I'm afraid this is as far as the simulation goes, I can't simulate what the child would look like more evolved, such as a child instead of a baby. However, this is about as accurate a depiction of your offspring will be if you and Jeremy manage to conceive successfully.]** Ema said as she moved to touch the screen and end the simulation.

"Wait… can you… transfer a recording of the simulation to my phone?" She asked quickly before she could terminate the program. "Please… I want to keep it…"

Ema nodded and connected her phone to the mainframe, and downloaded the recording to her phone before terminating the simulation.

As she left Gazelle opened her phone and played the video, running the simulation again, watching Jeremy's and her egg coming together to once again, create their child. She cried tears as she smiled lovingly, wishing so much that she was pregnant now, so she could meet her child. She knew that humans as a species won't survive once Jeremy dies, but she found comfort and joy knowing that at the very least, humans won't fade away into obscurity with time.

They would live on via Jeremy, through 'her'.

SH-1-ZU the MANTIS

(Jeremy's PoV)

"I've begun selling tickets to help raise the funds we are going to need to actually host this festival you and Aelita have in mind, but Jeremy, the sheer 'weight' of food your asking is going to be very difficult to afford." Lioness said while they sat in her office. "I'm already getting yelled at by my finance director over how much of the taxpayer's money we're spending on buying the chemicals and materials to keep Ema supplied for her cures and vaccines, this is almost going to cost as much."

"Hmmm, that is going to be rough." He muttered while Aelita sat in her holosphere in his lap. "I think I can alleviate half of your concerns though, if you can cover purchasing the meat for the festival, then I think my facility can cover handling the vegetable and fruit aspects of it."

"How so?"

"The Hydroponics Bay, if I get it up and running, I think we can use that to quickly grow enough food to cover what's needed."

"Wait… how can you possibly grow 'that' much food in such a short time?" Lioness asked in confusion. "The festival is in less than a month, how can you grow so much so fast?"

"Better than telling how, how about I show you, as I've never actually been in there myself…" He said warmly. "I know how it works but I've never actually been inside the Hydroponics Bay."

"I haven't been to the facility in a long time since my last visit… and I would like to see more human technology… and this technology does intrigue me…" Lioness muttered to herself as she held her chin while thinking.

After a while she hit her intercom and told her secretary to cancel her schedule for the afternoon and joined him in his Solar Carriage to visit the facility. After leading the way down several levels, he turned down a corridor, heading toward a section called 'Hydroponics'.

The Hydroponics Bay door was extremely wide, double sealed from the outside and triple sealed on the inside, creating an airlock chamber they had to stay in until they were allowed into the Hydroponics Bay itself. The room's diameters made it the equivalent of a football stadium's field, with a low built ceiling that had very specially designed lights shining dimly to light the room up enough for them to see. On the floor were large trenches while very narrow platforms jutted in between each trench for them to navigate. In the middle of the room was a large green 'object' jutting out and hanging above the floor.

"This room hasn't been activated in a long time…" He said as he walked over to a terminal and input his code. "Give me a few seconds to transfer power to this room and turn everything back on."

"Take your time." Lioness muttered as she stared at the empty trenches. "For a Hydroponics Bay I was expecting something else…"

"It's nothing compared to what Facility 12 had, theirs had a more refined method of growing food, able to stack crops vertically, while we used horizontal methods." He explained as he finished the power transfer. "But we had a more 'advanced' method of growing crops before the other facilities."

-Ticktickticktickticktick-

As power was transferred a strange ticking noise got their attention, making them turn to watch as the green object unfurled itself with clicking and clanking, extending two extremely long and nimble legs and two equally long and curled arms which ended in specialized scythes. The body's head revealed itself to be small and shrunken compared to the rest of the body with a narrow torso and two small optics which glowed green as it looked at them.

"Whoa… a Mantis class drone, haven't seen one of those outside of holograms." He muttered as he stepped in front of Lioness, and it stared at him. "What are you?"

In response it turned and walked on all four limbs toward him to stand up to it's rather imposing seven feet height, before speaking in a gentle, feminine tone. **[I am Shizu, or more commonly referred to by my drone ID, SH-1-ZU, a first-generation Agricultural Mantis class Drone upgraded with a Category 4 AI.]** It said warmly to him, gesturing to itself with its arms. **[Do you not recognize me?]**

"To be honest no, I've never met you… but do you know 'me' is the question?" He asked warmly.

The drone stared at him before its optics changed from green, to pink, and then back to green. **[You are 'Jeremy Wilheart', of Eden Facility 17, your species is Homo Sapiens… I am at your command 'master'.]**

"Why did it call you 'master'?" Lioness asked in confusion.

"It's a first generation drone line, very old, when drones were being developed and we still called them 'machines' or 'robots', they were given AI that often referred to humans in servant terminology to help reduce the fear of machines in general population." He explained. "I'm actually surprised your still functioning, I would have thought you would be decommissioned and replaced with a more upgraded model."

**[My model is the oldest of all the drone lines, I was created long before the Eden Facility was built, and I will remain the oldest drone until I am decommissioned. I was also intended to be decommissioned, however, the convoy I was attached to was assaulted before it could reach the facility prior to its completion.]** Shizu said politely. **[The other models were destroyed, and only I remained. Are you here to decommission me, is that why I have been activated again?]**

"No actually… I was wondering if you could help with the Hydroponics Bay, since you are in here you would know if we could get it working?"

**[I would be proud to be of service to the creator species once again.]** Shizu said with a bow, before straightening up and walking to the terminal. **[This Hydroponics Bay has not been active since I was deactivated, what soil we had was extracted and thrown away prior to my shutdown. As you have restored power, we need only new soil samples to begin cultivating crops here and begin circulating mist into this room.]**

"Mist?" Lioness asked as Shizu pressed a button.

"Mist, unlike your 'traditional' methods of growing food, we use a special mist coated with a delicately crafted form of radiation to soak the soil and air in the room to grow food." Jeremy explained as a hissing filled the room and a special blue mist began filling it.

"Radiation?" Lioness yelled in panic.

**[Do not be alarmed, while the term 'radiation' no doubt has a negative meaning generally, in this case, the radiated mist is of human design to only affect plant growth.]** Shizu said warmly while the blue mist filled the room and hung low to the floor. **[The radiation stimulates rapid growth in plant life, increasing the chemical reactions that take place during a plant's life cycle. As the mist soaks the air and soil, coating the soil with water droplets and particles to feed and nourish the plants, while the radiation stimulates nutrient growth in the soil. While it affects plant growth drastically, it is completely harmless to humans and other animal species.]**

Lioness just stared at the mist as she understood what it was the drone explained. "That's incredible… this kind of technology could revolutionize how we grow food on a global scale!" She whispered in awe. "Do you think we could copy this technology and…"

**[I am afraid the technology to create the radiation and the mist cannot be replicated, nor can it be deployed on such a scale.]** Shizu declared sadly. **[I have synchronized with the current Sentinel AI, and I am sorry, but your level of technology cannot replicate the necessary radiation without causing harm. Furthermore, this technology only works in an enclosed environment, the special radiation coating the mist dissipates quickly with time, and the mist is constantly recycled to replace it. Until you have advanced enough to develop a similar technology to recycle and replicate the radiation, I am afraid it is beyond your abilities at this time.]**

"Oh… I see." Lioness said disheartened.

Shizu turned to him now and asked, **[May I give you a hug now?]**

He was caught off guard with that strange request. "What?"

**[Your father brought you in here while you were two years old to fix a malfunction I was suffering, and you gestured me to give you a hug while you were an infant, but I was unable to fulfill your request as you were too small at the time to override my previous orders to manage the Hydroponics Bay.]** Replied warmly. **[Every drone is required to obey a human's request, but I was unable to fulfill this request at the time… may I finally fulfill it?]**

"I guess so?" He said in a confused tone.

The drone wrapped its arms around him and gently embraced him for a few seconds, before letting him go. **[Hug given…]** She said warmly.

"Well that was the most awkward moment I've ever had in the facility." He muttered.

"So, this mist, how long have you used this technology?" Lioness asked Shizu.

**[Eden Facility 17 developed this technology ten years prior to the Cryosleep Solution, before then we used more 'archaic' methods to create fertilizer to feed the soil and plants we grew.]** She replied.

"What were they?" Lioness asked curiously, no doubt expecting some advanced method that surpassed what mammals used that she might ask about.

Shizu however, glanced at Jeremy before replying in a polite tone, **[That information is… 'classified'… with all due respect, only a human may access that information, and I cannot share it while in the presence of a 'mammal'.]**

"Oh… I see." Lioness said in dissapointment.

"Mayor Lioness, I need to check the Hydroponics Bay to make sure it will do what I need it to, if you want to wait outside real quick I'll walk you back to the entrance and we can return to your office at City Hall." He said warmly.

"Sure thing."

He watched her enter the airlock and waited until she was gone before turning to Shizu and asking her, "What did we use prior to this technology?"

**[Please pardon what I have to say, but we used composted human bodies prior to this technology's use.]** She said respectfully. **[Any human who died, was placed in an isolated pit, isolated from the rest of the facility to decompose after being injected with a special chemical. It was a carefully guarded secret, that only a select few individuals knew, myself included, and I was ordered not to tell any human who did not have a high level of command. As you are the last human… I am required to tell you now.]**

"So… all that time I have been…" He said in horror as the reality hit him. "How did you keep that a secret…"

**[They lied, and said they used composted rat bodies to create the fertilizer… scientists and engineers were trying for 'years' to develop this technology… from 'all' facilities. Once it was developed and tested… all facilities burned the remaining bodies and any new bodies after that.]**

There was silence before Shizu bent low to look at him.

**[Are you… upset with what we had to do, to keep your species alive?]**

"No… I just… never knew what happened to all the bodies, why we never buried them as in the past… or even cremated them until more recently." He muttered. "I don't blame you… you were doing what you had to do. We weren't told every secret, and with each new secret I learn makes me less inclined to learn more of what happened…"

**[If it is any consolation… we tried to be respectful to those left behind, and we told any loved ones they had… that they were cremated. We enclosed ashes in small boxes to give them piece of mind…]**

"It's okay… and thank you Shizu… for telling me the truth, I was always curious is all…" He whispered sadly. "If you are ever asked, just say we used a 'less advanced' form of this mist technology."

**[With all due respect Jeremy, but I am not programmed to lie, I can only 'not tell' the truth.]** She said sadly. **[In order to fulfill this request, I will have to wipe my memory and change the data so that I will assume it's the truth. I cannot do that without your assistance.]**

"I… don't want to make you to lie… but I also don't want mammals to find out, or let that knowledge remain potentially to be found…" He replied before he took a deep breath and sighed. "If I give you autonomy to decide yourself how you wish to proceed, will you decide how you wish to fulfill my request?"

**[Jeremy, giving a drone free autonomy to do anything is a dangerous risk, without strict guidelines, you will have no control over how I choose to handle this information… are you 'sure' you wish to give me free will in this instance?]**

"Yes… I'll keep the secret myself, but I don't want mammals to learn." He replied quietly. "For all their sake, nobody must know what my people had to do in order to survive."

**[As you wish, I will delete all data regarding the information from the database and my own memory banks… and replace it with the information you suggested.]** Shizu said as her optics changed colors to purple.

While she did her thing, he sighed as he wished he too could just erase his memories, knowing the truth was both a gift and a curse. "You know you drones sure are lucky that you can erase your memories." He told the drone. "I can't do that as easily, I can forget information overtime maybe, but not outright just delete it at a moment's notice."

**[Your species is truly blessed Jeremy; my memory banks do not act like that…]** Shizu said warmly to him.

"I guess when you look at it from your perspective yes, but I wish I could forget how we made fertilizer in the facility before this technology." He said sadly.

**[Why Jeremy, why would you ask that?]** Shizu asked warmly. **[We have always used the radiation infused mist to fertilize and grow crops within the facility, we only use the current implementation because it is more effective.]**

He stared at the drone before smiling sadly. "Yea… we always did." He replied quietly. "I need to grow a lot of food quickly; is there a way you can speed up the process more?"

**[Of course, I can intensify the density of the mist and this will speed up growth, though we will 'lose' the soil's nutrients after a few weeks. The radiation will only increase the growth of plant life as it grows denser, it will not affect the soil's nutrient regeneration cycle… I will need new soil when that happens…] **She said proudly. **[Once you provide me with the required soil, and some seeds, I can resume my duties as I did in the past.]**

"I'll get you the soil and the seeds, just make sure you grow enough to help produce food to feed… well a lot of mammals, let's just leave it at that." He said.

**[Define, a 'lot'.]**

"Oh, I don't know, a few hundred thousand, sound about right give or take? We won't be using Standard Nutritional Supplements."

**[As you command.]** She said with a bow. **[I am pleased to be of service to your species, once again Master Jeremy.]**

"Don't call me master, add that to the other updates to your program in this day and age." He said with a chuckle while he began to leave.

**[I will do my best…]**

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=From the Author=

I am going to take a short break from HOGH to work on my other stories, as they need attention. The next chapter I write is going to be 'extensively' long, as it is a chapter featuring multiple cultures from around the world in a festival setting, and I need to do everything properly and that will take time.

Review away, I love reading reviews and take what criticism I can take, even if it isn't friendly~

Also to Hapyjohn, the reason Jeremy can't write his name but is able to build and repair machines as well as read and understand complicated subjects is because, when you are using holograms, keyboards and viewing huds most of your life, your handwriting skills are naturally less 'practiced'. Its not that he doesn't have the skills, they just aren't as 'developed' as someone who would be signing autographs almost every day for fans, and thus practices her writing skills more frequently.


	33. Chapter 28

**Aelita opens her eyes, and looks to you as you read her words…**

"_I'm living in nature, I touch, I feel, I cry…"_

"_Knowing that you have gone so, so far away…"_

"_Surrounded in silence, believe, forgive, time is running out to make it better…"_

"_I hear you call, I reach out to where you are…"_

"_I hear your voice, the words come from deep inside of me!"_

"_I fly this sky, in darkness, light the world with hope and belief…"_

"_I fly to you, overflowing, all my feelings here, the garden of love…"_

"_We're together… I'm here… for you~!"_

**While smiling…**

"_I was standing in brightness, I saw you…"_

"_And felt you smile, believing you and I are always forever…"_

"_Connecting our vision, voice sighs in piece…"_

"_Singing colors are reaching out to us, clear our minds, we are inseparable…"_

"_Clear our eyes, nothings real until I touch you, I fly this sky in darkness…"_

"_Light the world with hope and belief, I fly to you…"_

"_Overflowing, all my feelings here the garden of love…"_

"_We're together, I'm here for you…"_

**And vanishes… once again, as she closes her eyes…**

Chapter 28 = Day of Remembrance, PT 1

(Aelita's PoV)

She looked out through the eyes of multiple drones in the field as they made the final preparations for the festival. In total almost every drone was currently being used to complete the preparations, all one hundred and five FOX drones, one hundred and eighty seven RAPTOR drones and two hundred and fifty two DOG drones, as well as seventy thousand ANT drones, all of which were busily constructing various stages, areas, frames, platforms and other necessities to ensure this festival's importance and significance would be achieved. She had pulled from her vast knowledge, her intellect, her memory, everything she could that could be packed into a single twenty-four-hour event.

The reason for this, with the Mayor's assistance and blessings, Zootopia would be celebrating a 'human' festival, much like other festivals, that had not been celebrated for thousands of years.

While she wished it could last longer, due to legal issues they were only permitted to use Zootopia Central Park for a full twenty-four hours.

While all of the drones were out and about setting things up, the facility itself was operating with a skeleton crew of protection drones, only three RAPTOR drones were guarding the entrances, with the automated defenses on standby until the end of the festival. She knew they wouldn't be needed, but Sentinel required a 'minimum' defense compliment and standby level with so few Sentinel Drones available to it.

She wished to include so many cultures into the event, but with so many cultures in her database she had to pick and choose which ones to feature and what to show about them given who the audience viewing them was. She knew her creators didn't always have the 'best' to show given certain aspects of their cultures, but generally she picked the best to feature.

At the same time, she was viewing and commanding her drones, making sure they didn't mess things up, she was also listening to the news broadcast which was talking about the festival happening the next day.

"_And we're back again talking about, you guessed it, the big human festival taking place tomorrow in Zootopia Central Park. If you weren't paying attention before you should now as all day drones from the facility have been actively working around the clock without a break, building small platforms, stages, even miniature buildings in preparation for the big festival known by humans as 'All Souls Day', with the actual date having been changed to better 'suit' the occasion as not all humans practiced it, and it varied from culture to culture." _A news anchor, a Caribou said.

"_All month City hall has been selling tickets to the event which have sold out quickly, both to help pay for the event and to help raise additional funds to pay for materials so Ema can continue her work in the human base. According to what little information we've been given by Jeremy and City Hall, this celebration is to not only 'remember' those who have died but to also welcome them back to walk among the living for a short visit, so that they can see their descendants and join in the festivities. While there aren't many mammal celebrations closely related to this human holiday or how its practiced, we are told that it will be accompanied with feasting, drinking, and a host of other festivities. Ticket prices varied between two prices, individual standard tickets include not only enjoying the festivities but also permit them to partake in any of the food which will be served there, all of which we are told are of 'human' origins, so visitors will be enjoying food eaten by humans. Visitors will also be allowed to enjoy any of the attractions, what they are we don't know…"_

"_The more 'expensive' ticket, of which only a limited one hundred and five were sold to individuals, and sold out extremely quickly, include not only the aforementioned list, but also a 'spiritual guide escort, which will follow the individual in question throughout the event. This 'spirit guide' as we were told, is an 'animalistic representation' of an individual at their core, and can range from 'anything' to everything. These tickets sold out almost within an hour of being put up for sale, and with several hours remaining and the festival shaping up, Zootopia eagerly awaits tomorrow for the first celebration of a human holiday…"_

"_In other news, lawyers fighting for the rights to the cures and vaccines developed by said Ema are making their opening arguments tomorrow in the upper court. Pharmaceutical companies have been trying to secure the rights to keep the cures and vaccines so as to profit off them, with some of their arguments saying that Ema will put doctors out of business and drastically reduce the standard wage of doctors and medical practitioners if she continues her work. This is because within the last two weeks, standard medical treatments which mammals once took to deal with medical issues were just rendered 'outdated' because of cures developed by Ema. One such treatment was a regular treatment plan prescribed by Pharmaceutical companies to help deal with Arthritis, was recently ended because of a cure developed by Ema which stops the swelling of joints, and prevents any further occurrences for up to fifty years."_

"_Ema was quoted on record when confronted with this question, saying, __**[My job is to 'cure' problems, not prolong their existence. If something is wrong with the body, it is my task to fix that problem, so that the body can return to normal operations…]**__, she had nothing else to say after that, telling reporters to 'stop bothering her when she's busy'._

"_Ema will 'also' be present at the festival tomorrow, having a small booth of her own and offering free medical services during the event, ranging from simple checkups that will last about five minutes, to more advanced services such as treating any issues one may be experiencing without their knowledge."_

She tuned out the broadcast as she started focusing her efforts into her task. She could have been lax before since even distracted she could have commanded and steered the drones to work, but now with only hours remaining, she had no time to waste.

Everything must be 'perfect'… everything… she would accept nothing less than perfection.

(Jeremy's PoV)

He stared at the food storage unit from the outside with SH-1-ZU, or as he started calling her, Shizu. For the last three weeks she has used the radioactive mist of the Hydroponics Bay to swiftly grow and cultivate a massive variety of vegetables and fruits, and now the 'fruits' of her labor were stacked and piled high. Unfortunately, the cost was that the facility had used up all the nutrients found in the soil he provided, and until it was replaced with new soil would remain so.

At the same time the mayor had come through with her efforts, and in the 'cold storage' unit several meats, mostly consisting of bird and fish were now stored waiting to be used, all of which delivered that morning to the facility. She also had sent over spices and herbs that Aelita had ordered for the food, which had also been sent to the kitchens along with a company of ANT drones to clean everything out.

**[As you have requested unit Jeremy, I have grown enough raw plant food to be turned into processed food to feed over a hundred thousand individuals over the course of a day.]** Shizu declared warmly. **[Are you satisfied with my efforts?]**

"More than pleased, thank you for all your work." He said as he looked inside.

**[I am proud to have been of service once again.]** She said with a short bow to him.

"Now I just have to turn on the kitchen… those haven't been activated in forever…" He muttered as he walked in front of Shizu to the closed off room opposite the food storage units, the Kitchen and Food Service Room. "I just hope they still have the drones used to cook."

**[If they were stored away then they will still be of service to you…]** Shizu said sweetly as she followed him in.

The room that doubled as both kitchen and cafeteria consisted of two rooms, with the larger being the eating area filled with rows and rows of tables and benches. ANTs were crawling around the benches cleaning them for no other reason than because Sentinel assigned them to clear away lingering dusts as they were a health hazard. In the kitchen he saw all of the equipment in pristine condition, waiting for thousands of years to be put to use for a people that no longer ate there. The empty feeling once more reminding him of how many this place was capable of housing and feeding, but each step he took, every step Shizu took, just sent 'echoes' of how dead everything was.

As he walked over to the power control unit, he heard the door open and saw a lone RAPTOR walk in with over a hundred mammals all wearing cooking attires, chef hats and even some carrying their own cooking tools. Leading them was none other than Mayor Lioness.

"Sorry I'm late Jeremy, but as you asked, I brought some additional help for you to prepare the food for tomorrow." Lioness said as she walked up to him and shook his hand.

"Thank you, and thank you all for coming to help." He said to all of the mammals.

"When the mayor said that we would be cooking human food I was not expecting to be cooking it 'inside' of your home Jeremy." One of the chefs said, a hog said as he shook his hand warmly. "Well, we're ready to get started!"

"You can begin soon; I just need to power up everything again…" He said as he turned back to the power control unit. "It has been offline for a… very long time."

After pushing a few buttons and pulling a lever, he heard the machinery groan as it started to wake up, and then became silent again.

"Ugh… one second…" He complained as he tried again and got the same result. "Shizu?"

**[As you command…]** She said sweetly as she stood where Jeremy was, turned around, and then gave an almighty kick with her rear leg against the power control unit.

Instantly it groaned and the lights turned on, with the telltale sounds of power once again being transferred to machinery that has not been turned on in ages.

Mayor Lioness just looked confused at that, and Jeremy had to explain that everything in the facility had a 'backup startup trigger', which activated when sudden force was applied. When the appropriate level of 'force' was used, such as a huge punch or a smack from something, the machinery would turn on automatically, and ANT drones assigned to repair whatever was malfunctioning with the standard startup mechanics.

As everything started back up, he saw to his relief that the repurposed Jumping Class Cooking Spider Drones were still there in the kitchen, and upon power being transferred to them they slowly unfurled from their balled up forms as he led the mayor and all of the cooks into the kitchen area.

"Woah, look at all of these cooking appliances." One chef said as he looked at the beautifully clean appliances. "I could roast thirty full birds in this oven…"

"Check out these knives, they look so sharp they could fillet a fish just by 'touching' it!"

"Ooooh, I wish I had this smoker for my restaurant…" Another said as they stared at the tall smoker.

"Now this is a grill…"

"Check out these utensils…"

"Are these pots stainless steel, I've never seen this kind of material…"

While they all looked at the tools of the long forgotten career of 'human chef', he headed over to watch a pair of old Jumping Class Spider Drones repurposed to be used as 'cooks' for the Eden Facility, but shut down because the kitchen was also shut down when all food options were reduced to only the paste.

The two Spider Drones, each with very thin segmented legs, a tiny head with eight differently colored optics, a slightly larger thorax, and finally a large bulging abdomen which contained their cooking tools and a cleaning machine to clean and sanitize any cooking tool used. Upon activating they turned to Jeremy and each bowed to him.

**[Greetings Unit Jeremy… this unit is identified as Zako, or by my drone identification ZA-K0, and this is my twin unit, Zuko, or known as ZU-K0.]**

**[Do you require us to produce standard nutritional supplement?]**

"Zuko, Zako, glad to see you two are still around… no I actually don't need anything as I don't really eat here anymore." He said with a smile.

**[What, then why have you activated us?]** They asked in confusion as well as in unison.

"I need you two to help 'them' cook food." He said as he pointed to the mammals.

**[Did you say-]**

**[Cook food?]**

"Whoa first thing's first, introductions… Mayor Lioness, this is Zuko and Zako, repurposed cooking drones that serve Eden Facility 17." He said as he beckoned the mayor to them. "Zuko, Zako, mayor Lioness of Zootopia."

"Pleasure to meet you two." The mayor said with a chuckle as she seemed to like their category 4 AI personalities.

**[We are pleased to meet you, now tell us Unit Jeremy…]** Zuko said as they both turned to him.

**[What was that about 'cooking food'? Are we finally being permitted to cook food once more?]**

"Yep, you two need to show these mammals how to cook human food." He explained as the mammals now started joining them to look at the two drones. "Aelita will have already sent you a list of items required for tomorrow. You have about ten to eleven hours to prepare all of the items on the list, but you'll have to adjust the recipes to use only bird and fish related meats if the recipe requires meat. We're expecting about a hundred thousand participants for the festivities, and even during the event you'll need to prepare food. You'll get help as more chefs will arrive tomorrow to replace those who are here at the moment."

**[Oh, gloooorious days, we can cook agaaaaaaain!]** The two drones cheered before standing at attention and bowing to him.

**[Fear not Jeremy, all will be done as you requested!]**

**[We will prepare a feast the likes of which have never been seen!]**

"I'm counting on you two." He said with a smirk. "The food stores are fully stocked; I want you to make sure all of it is used."

**[As you command!]** They declared before leaping over him and every other mammal nearby to start activating the ovens and grills.

After he showed the cooks and their assistants what to do with dirty knives, pots or pans, showing them where they can sanitize and clean their hands as well as keep everything clean, and assuring them not to worry about where a tool is or when it will be cleaned, he and Mayor Lioness left with Shizu so they could work on the food. As they left, he could hear the sounds of grilling and bubbling waters as well as 'smell' food being worked on.

"As I promised, ZPD will be handling security Jeremy so that nomammal tries to ruin the festival, but I am still curious as to how everything is going to be done?" Lioness asked.

"Aelita said she is going to be handling that, but she still hasn't told me how she is going to handle everything."

"So, we'll have to wait until tomorrow then to find out, huh?" She asked to which he nodded. "You know Jeremy, a lot has changed since I first met you, and I have to apologize to you. When I first learned about you, I saw you as this mythical creature that I had to protect, then you started becoming a massive headache and a pain to have to keep safe… and now, well so much has happened that I'm actually glad to be the one having to deal with you. Though my finance director is yelling at me because of how in the red the city is."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that… is it related to…"

"Yes, it's one hundred percent related to your Ema and the materials we are constantly sending her, keeping her supplied isn't cheap." She chuckled.

"Listen Mayor Lioness, I appreciate that you are feeding my facility with all of the raw materials it needs now to function when it did before I was born…" He said as he stopped her and looked seriously to her face. "But if its costing you too much, you don't need to keep Ema sustained, she is used to working with very little and making what she has stretch, my species is very good at rationing and making do with what we have available. Ema is only working as fast as she is because she is constantly supplied, but she is more than willing to slow down her progress if I tell her that she has to ration her resources again."

"And I'm glad to hear that, but don't worry, as I told my Finance director, if this festival works, Zootopia will go from being the city where Predators and Prey live in harmony to being the hotbed of human culture and technology, and that will probably bring in tons of money from tourism and government entities around the world." When he looked thoughtful of her words, she held his shoulder and smiled warmly. "Don't worry, I didn't mean I would go trying to sell off your technology to the highest bidder. Don't take it the wrong way."

"Alright, well… take care Mayor, I'll see you tomorrow at the festival."

As the mayor left, he and Shizu remained in the Command Center so he could help her with issuing orders to the drones. He looked over additional information that Lioness left him with, the list of visitors not only including mammals who paid for tickets to the event, but also some convicted mammals who would be visiting as part of some 'rehabilitation program'. He wasn't against them coming, but he was going to make sure that the drones would be keeping a close eye on them so as to keep the festival safe for everyone.

He had informed the ZPD that they would each be escorted by a single DOG drone wherever they went, so that officers could focus on doing 'their' jobs.

He was hoping also that the festival might help them change their ways.

"Aelita, can you explain why you've requisitioned the… 'repurposement' of Holoroom 2?"

Aelita smirked as she shook her head and held her finger to her lips, telling him that it was a secret.

"Alright, I guess its okay since… well we aren't exactly using the holorooms." He relented. "Shizu, you'll be joining the other drones at the festival as an example of a 'peaceful' drone, you'll just be explaining what you do as a first-generation Mantis drone. Ema will have a booth for herself so she can perform medical examinations on mammals participating."

**[Which I am pleased to see my request to have sanitizer refills has been fulfilled.]** Ema declared as she appeared on a viewscreen. **[I am also glad that you 'finally' got around to my maintenance cycle, else I would have taken even longer to perform medical scans with my optics and leg scanners.]**

"You're welcome Ema." He said with a smirk.

**[Yes well, I will require an external power cell in order to operate outside of the base for twenty-four hours Jeremy. As you are aware, my current power cell only permits me twelve hours of autonomous functionality.]**

"There will be a fully charged power station in your booth that you can connect to using the same charging cable which will hang from the roof." He said while turning to Shizu. "As for you Shizu, your built-in wing-solar panels are still just as outdated as… well the rest of you, but it's still good enough that you can go outside and not be dependent on the facility to keep you functioning. Your job will be to answer what questions you 'can', namely related to agriculture."

**[It will be my pleasure and honor to be of service to your species in whatever manner you see fit Unit Jeremy.]** Shizu said sweetly with a bow.

"Tomorrow is going to be the most important day for all of us, me, Aelita, you two and all of the other drones in the base." He declared. "Tomorrow has to be a success… it must be a success."

**[Well… I can't ensure tomorrow will be a success… but I will at least make sure nobody 'dies' tomorrow…]** Ema stated dully.

**[I will do my best to ensure your species image is preserved Jeremy…]** Shizu said warmly.

Aelita smiled and bowed with a knowing nod, saying she will do her best as well.

With that he sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes, and yawned. It had been a tiring week leading up to tomorrow for him. The drones could work non-stop only requiring breaks to recharge or him having to do minor fixes for them every so often, which had been happening recently, but he just couldn't keep going. Lula had helped with fixing the drones alongside him, so the work was done twice as fast thanks to their combined efforts. He was just glad that Gazelle was always there to help cheer him up every day. It also didn't help that Ant Central Command had chosen 'now' to report an infestation of TERMITE drones. For the last two weeks alone, drones were reporting malfunctions and damages to their bodies as TERMITEs broke out of the quarantined section of the base, and the annoying pests were getting into everything.

The day before ACC finally got the TERMITEs under control, and he kept a few since even though they were pests, they had their uses, being able to rapidly break down anything metallic to base materials and self-replicate if needed. At the moment he couldn't reprogram them, their Ais were too simplistic to accept any new algorithms and programs, but if he could find a way to make them accept ACC's orders then he could use them to work alongside the ANT drones, which while good at breaking things down and rebuilding them, are not as efficient as the TERMITEs when it comes to breaking things down, and the TERMITES in contrast are not as effective as the ANTs when it comes to building things.

Gazelle had also been busy with her own work, so she wasn't with him while he went to the facility to work on the festival. She'd been invited to do the half time show for a sporting event and was getting ready to head out of Zootopia to another city for over two weeks to perform there. She was going to use it to do another of her species appreciation concerts like what she did for Skunks, only this time she was singing for Porcupines. She invited him to join her so he could see more of the world and see another city that 'wasn't' Zootopia.

**[Are you exhausted?]** Shizu queried.

"A little, this has been an exhausting week for all of us."

**[Well, far be it from me to tell you how to rest, but as your 'only' doctor on staff, I suggest you return to Gazelle's home and rest until tomorrow.]** Ema said dully.

"Probably a good idea." He said as he got up and went to pick up Aelita's holosphere, but the AI shook her head and beckoned toward herself and then the command center. "You need to stay here?"

She nodded with a smile, and then waved goodbye before turning back to the viewscreen and resuming commanding and ordering of the drones which were 'still' working in the field.

"Alright… I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Once again, she smiled sadly before shaking her head, before she glanced at the ceiling and made hand gestures.

**(Translation, AI Aelita states that she will be busy throughout the festival and unable to join you.)** Sentinel declared over the intercom.

"But how will you-?" He started saying before she smirked and winked at him. "This has to do with all of the holo-emitters you repurposed from the holoroom isn't it?"

Again, all she did was wink, and shoo him away, telling him to go rest and be with Gazelle tonight. He nodded and did as she said, leaving the facility to go outside where, waiting for him was his Solar Carriage just rolling up to the tunnel entrance so it could pick him up. Driving the carriage and directing both HORSE drones was Franky, who got out and opened the private section door for him so he and Gazelle could have privacy together.

"Thanks Franky."

"You're welcome Jeremy." He replied as the door closed and Gazelle leaned against him.

"Excited for tomorrow Jeremy?" She asked warmly.

"Nervous actually… tomorrow 'has' to be a success, it just 'has' to be successful." He replied. "I don't even know how it's going to go, Aelita is keeping plans for it a secret from me, wanting it to be a surprise. All I know is that tomorrow we're celebrating my species and remembering all of them because they're dead… not exactly a fun idea in my mind."

She looked slightly confused but nodded in agreement, leaning once more against him. "It hammers home that your alone… doesn't it?" She asked him.

"Yes…"

They just sat in silence as the carriage moved on before Gazelle turned toward him with a smile. "Well I know one way to help you forget that your alone." She said.

"Oh, what's that?"

She grinned before pulling him with her to lie on top of her in their seat.

"I'll give you one hint…" She whispered seductively, before kissing him sweetly on the lips.

After a few seconds she pulled back with a loving smile and stared into his eyes with hers, giving him her 'bedroom eyes' that she only ever showed him.

"Did you get the hint?"

"I did… and I agree wholeheartedly…" He whispered back with a grin.

With that they spent the next ten minutes making out and sharing kisses with each other as Gazelle's heart smothered and warmed his, reminding it once again that his heart was no longer alone.

When they arrived at her home he and Gazelle went inside while Franky and his brothers took the carriage back to their place, where the HORSE drones would then take over and drag the carriage back to her home. Inside her home he helped make dinner and they spent some of their free time watching the news and later a movie online. Gazelle had chosen a romance comedy about a horse, similar to the HORSE drones with extremely long golden hair titled Wrangled. The two of them laughed and smiled at during the movie, and when it was time to sleep they headed upstairs and went to bed, both of them only clad in their underwear, Jeremy because he'd grown accustomed to her doing it and Gazelle because of how close she was to him.

(Gazelle's PoV)

The next morning, she woke up to her phone's alarm rumbling and shaking on her table. She reached over and hit the snooze button before returning to sleeping with her boyfriend. She leaned into his chest and breathed in his scent, even as he hugged her tightly with both arms and held her close to him.

She had learned many things about Jeremy in her time with him, first that he was kind and selfless. Second, she learned that if needed he'd sacrifice himself without hesitation to save somemammal's life, even one he knew nothing about as his actions proved. Third, while he may have lived what some might consider the life of luxury, what with the base and its fancy technology, drones serving him and protecting him day and night, he was actually on the poor side having 'nothing' to his name aside from what he'd inherited from his species, namely the base. And finally, as she had grown accustomed to… though she actually liked it after she found out…

Jeremy was a cuddler… he really liked to cuddle and hug her when they slept together.

She wasn't on the cuddling side when it came to sleep, but she found being cuddled was actually what she preferred.

She first found out about his nighttime grip her first night sleeping with him, when she woke up before him and found herself in his, rather 'strong' grip and unable to really move. It amused her, and annoyed her at first, because she had to get up to prepare for a modelling session that day, and had to wake him up much to her dismay. She had also adjusted to his nighttime cuddling by getting rid of her alarm clock and setting her phone close by so she wouldn't have to leave his side.

She found his subconscious wish to keep her close to him cute, the fact that he wanted her close by even when asleep spoke volumes about how he felt about her. It was just another reminder of what the two of them had.

Since today was the day of the festival she decided to not wake him up and just sleep in with him, enjoying the feeling of his bare skin on her fur, how smooth it felt and how his scent gave her this sense of calmness. She also liked how he held her so close, it made her feel, safe, she didn't know why but just him holding her made her feel safe and secured.

Thinking of the festival again, she smiled and planted a small kiss on his sleeping lips before going back to sleep herself.

'_Today will be wonderful, I just know it…'_

Time passed and 'eventually' they finally got up and went about their day. Since the event wouldn't start until midnight, she and Jeremy had time to make some preparations. After breakfast they took his carriage with her friends down to Sable's clothes store.

While there they got new clothes, with Jeremy needing a new set of clothes since he didn't have many and was only using two sets. Gazelle got herself a new dress to go with the occasion of the festival, and Jeremy a new set of dress clothes as this was a special occasion. Her friends all got matching outfits and Sable gave them a discount thanks to all of the business he was getting just because Jeremy had gotten his first clothes from him.

At her home they showered and cleaned themselves up, and was surprised to find Shizu the Mantis Drone alongside Ema at her front door.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked the two drones as Jeremy joined them. "And how did you get here without a crowd following you?"

**[Shizu insisted that she… 'tend' to Jeremy's grooming.]** The spider drone said dully.

**[Ema moved in Ball form to avoid being followed, and I flew here using my solar wings.]** Shizu declared sweetly as her back opened and ten silvery golden wings extended, fluttering and showing off the built-in solar panels. **[As this is the first human festival in over three hundred and fifty thousand years, it would be best that Jeremy look his best. He did say he wanted this festival to be a success, I am simply following my programming!]**

"How do you fly… with… all of 'that'?" Donny asked in confusion as Shizu was double his height.

"Shizu is actually very 'hollow', and lighter than she looks by comparison to the other drones." Jeremy explained. "As a first-generation MANTIS drone, she was built for short distance flights using her solar panels, so that she can go from tending to one patch of land to another as needed."

**[I can fly 'six' whole seconds, before needing to land.]** Shizu said with pride and glee. **[The creator species is truly amazing!]**

**[Wow… six whole seconds of floating above the ground before spending the next five minutes running…]** Ema said dully. **[Just get Jeremy ready, this trip has already wasted too much of my time…]**

"Why did you need Ema to show you?" Jeremy asked.

**[Sentinel declared that my searching for you to tend to you was beyond the scope of my design and programming.]** Shizu declared sweetly.

**[Meaning, Shizu was trying to do something she's not supposed to be doing, and your location is still considered 'classified information' and as such access to it is restricted.]**

"Well, Sentinel has a point there… you aren't exactly meant to be 'grooming' humans Shizu, your design is meant for plants." He said as he glanced at her arms which, while folded inward contained two very long scythes, both combined equal to well over his height.

**[Easily fixed!]** Shizu answered warmly as she reached into her chest, locked her blades in place, and then extracted a pair of miniature cutting scissors and a rake that she adjusted the teeth to be more 'comb-like'. **[May I begin Unit Jeremy?]**

"Uh…"

**[I better supervise, to make sure if Shizu injures you, you have medical assistance close by.]** Ema said as she jabbed her abdomen with one leg and filled up a syringe with her Biotech Gel.

She giggled as Jeremy was dragged off toward the Solar Carriage so he could sit and be supervised by both drones, and while Shizu was a bit more 'enthusiastic' about assisting Jeremy, she did as promise and groomed him. After about ten minutes Shizu declared her work finished, and Ema said that he still had a pulse, they showed Jeremy clean shaven and his hair trimmed. She hadn't really paid attention to his facial hair or head hair all that much, but now that she was, she noticed that he 'had' gained a small beard which had been completely shaved off by the Mantis drone. His hair had grown out quite a bit, but again thanks to Shizu it was now shortened to how it looked when she first met him.

"You look very handsome Jeremy." She said with a wink, which caused him to sheepishly blush at her compliment and her friends to chuckle.

"Can we not do this again?" Jeremy asked the two drones.

**[I will be more than happy to assist you again if you change your mind!]** Shizu declared sweetly as she replaced her scythes on her arms.

**[And if that happens, we'll do it in my medical bay… for obvious reasons.]** Ema stated dully.

As they still had time before the festival, she and Jeremy decided to watch her friends play video games on her tv, even when their dates for the festival showed up to join them for the trip. At long last when it was about an hour before midnight, when the festival was scheduled to begin, they all climbed into the carriage and made their way to Zootopia Central Park.

She watched as they approached the park and saw the throngs of mammals clamoring to get into the park as quickly as they could, saw the lines going on for so long as ZPD officers checked tickets and welcomed visitors into the park. When they parked and got out cameras naturally flashed and news crews tried to talk to them, but her friends managed to keep the cameras away so she and Jeremy as well as their dates could get in.

All around the park as she and Jeremy led the way she saw the work of the drones, which were walking to and fro wherever she looked. Dog drones walked around with signs strapped to their sides telling visitors to be respectful of the graves. Raptors were walking carrying food crates which let off wonderful smells that made predators and prey mouths water. There were booths and platforms, stages and quartered off areas that kept going and going, and along some of the temporary buildings were flags representing nations or cultures. She even saw on the waterfront of the lake that sat in the middle of the park were, to her surprise, rafts or boats of some kind that she had never seen before, and no doubt mammals never did either.

One thing she noticed the most frequently were small poles planted into the ground and extended high into the air topped with what looked like emitters that she had seen in the holoroom in the facility, every so often at regular intervals. Mammals were talking and gossiping as they waited for the festival to begin and for whatever this 'big surprise' that not even Jeremy knew of which Aelita had promised.

As they neared a group of news crews and cameras near the grave site where the drones had layered thousands of orange colored papers leading from it to the festival in all directions, they saw the Mayor speaking to them animatedly, before the mayor noticed him and beckoned him over. "Jeremy, ready to begin?" She asked warmly.

(Multiple PoV's)

He sighed and nodded as the cameras turned to him and signaled when they were live.

"Hello to all mammals from here in Zootopia Central Park." He said, and around the park various holographic viewscreens appeared, causing a hush to occur and a silence to emerge. "My name is Jeremy Wilheart, and I welcome you all here to celebrate, what was commonly referred to by my species, as Day of the Dead."

"It's not as 'morbid' as it sounds, and forgive me for not knowing the full history, I only had a few hours to practice and memorize this information, what with all the work that went into this festival and getting everything ready. Day of the dead is a celebration of friends and family to gather and remember those who have died. But also, to welcome them back for not a day of sadness, but of celebration… for they rejoin us, on this day, for a short time, to experience the world with us once more, to meet us, meet new friends and loved ones."

"This celebration includes feasting, drinking, talking about them and remembering them for who they were in life so that they would not be forgotten. I… I hope you… enjoy the food and drinks provided… all of the food here that you will eat for the next twenty-four hours will be... of 'human' origins, from cultures and nations around the world."

"With that… I say… for the first time in… over three hundred and fifty thousand years… happy Day of the Dead." He said with a smile.

From around the whole of the park cheers and applause sounded, and in the distance a clock struck midnight, signaling the start of Day of the Dead.

But, from the grave site a large 'BOOM' could be heard, almost like a massive gong sounded, catching him and everyone's attention as the cameras turned and saw four holographic portals appear, each in the shape of a door. Inside the portal's colors swirled and flowed, and a hush sounded as everyone waited for whatever was happening to happen.

Then… a shrill wailing sounded through the portal, and a shadowy figure appeared to be walking toward it. As they drew closer to the edge, they became more defined and human-like, walking forward and threw the portal, wielding a musical instrument which they blew on made of pipes and a bag of air.

"**Dooooo doo doldleeedooo dooo dooo doo doldeeedooo-"**

It was so loud that those nearest the holographic human, as the human was glowing slightly, wearing what looked like a plaid skirt with a plain white shirt with no sleeves and red cap walking forward and closer to Jeremy, even as the mammals nearby covered their ears at the sound.

"**Dooooo doo doldleeedooo dooo dooo doo deee dooo-"**

Finally, they stopped, and the person grinned as he looked at Jeremy. **"By the looks on yer faces ah can tell ya'll ar fans o-the bagpipes! Bua ahahahhah…"** He laughed before looking around with a smirk. **"Say uh… listen laddeh, quick question… is this here Zootopia Central Park?"**

He was speechless as he stared at the holographic human, and understood 'why' Aelita couldn't join him. "Uh… yes." He replied.

"**Ah, good… wanted to make sure, we almost got lost ya see. Some wee ninny with a basket on his head and a butter knife for ah sword thought we might have made a wrong turn at Albuquerque."** He yelled loudly before turning to the portals and hollering, **"Oi, this is the place, now get out here ya prancin sissy oafs! We got a party to start!"**

Within seconds each of the portals became crowded as holographic humans started walking out saying hello to various mammals as they began to spread out throughout the park. Each human looking around and pointing at things like buildings in the distance or waving hello and even greeting various mammals. Not just humans though, animals from the past also joined the humans, horses and dogs, cats and birds, species he'd never seen outside of a hologram or in the records that he looked for began spreading far and wide throughout the park.

Mammals were left speechless or with very little to say as all of these holograms come to life of humans from the past walked among them alongside ancestors of some mammal species.

"**Well what are ya lilly livered ninnys standin around gawking for, is this a party, or an art museum?"** The first holographic human called out as he laughed and beckoned Jeremy to follow him, which he did, completely forgetting other details about the festival, or even 'who' he was attending with.

Just the sight of so many humans had driven everything clear out of his mind as he walked and conversed with the man who said he was Scottish and was an athlete who competed in what he called the Highland Games.

Gazelle just smiled as Jeremy practically abandoned her and her friends while following the holographic human. She knew that this was as close to human on human interaction as he'd ever get, and she didn't mind him leaving her behind just to be a part of this. She shook her head in amusement as she decided to join in the festivities too and let him be on his own for now, if needed she'd just ask a drone to direct her to Jeremy.

"Hey Gazelle, we're going to go check out some of the booths if you don't mind!" Franky said suddenly.

"Sure, go ahead!" She said as they all took off.

**[Attention, those who purchased the Deluxe Tickets please report to the nearest DOG drone… to receive your Spirit Guide ID.]**

Hearing the announcement, she looked around and saw a Dog drone sitting in the middle of heavy mammal traffic and walked over it. When she approached it asked her to present her phone and show her ticket, which she did, and it nodded before its eyes glowed and her phone glowed in response.

**[Your ID for your spirit guide has been uploaded into your phone, you and your guide will locate each other with this unique signature.]** It stated.

"How will I know if its my guide or what it looks like?" She asked.

The drone simply stared at her before responding, **[You will know…]** and looked back toward the crowd around.

"Well aren't you a bright fountain of information…" She muttered.

"**Tell me about it darling."** Someone said behind her, causing her to turn around and see a human woman standing about five-foot-tall and smiling at her and wearing the most outrageous outfit she'd ever seen.

She looked like she was wearing a bell for a dress that cut halfway from the front.

"Who are you?"

"**My name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, but you can call me Lady Gaga, everyone did, or Stefani that works to!"** She replied with a smile. **"I've heard from the grape vine that you're a pop idol, I'm a singer myself you know, published music, wrote songs, you name it, I did it!"**

"You sing too?" She asked in surprise.

"**Is there an echo in here or are the crowds just repeating what comes out of your mouths ladies?"**

She turned to see yet another human, this time wearing sunglasses, a smile, and an interesting suit and slim shoes with metal souls on them, black tight jeans with a matching jacket.

"**Michael darling, how are you doing tonight?"**

"**The same every night, doing my very best to make all my fans proud!"** He said as he sauntered over to them with a grin. **"Gazelle, I've heard so much about you, love the outfit by the way! Matches your antlers!"**

"You're a singer too?"

"**That's what my mother told me, this party sounded nice, been a while since the good music was played, so a few of us all came together to do a little swing ding, ya hear me?"** Michael said with a smirk as he walked through them. **"Speaking of which come on Gaga, the others are waiting on us!"**

"**Coming Jackson!"**

Seeing the two holographic singers going off, and deciding she could meet and see other singers from human times she chose to follow them. After a few minutes of walking they approached a large platform where some holographic humans were standing and singing some random songs to a large group of mammals who were listening and either taking drinks or eating snacks that had been served.

"**Alright let's make room for the professionals!"** Gaga said with a cheer as she stepped onto the stage to cheers and applause as the other humans left the stage quickly. **"Now you mammals heard a few of my songs so I've been told, but they aint nothing compared to the one who sang em in the first place, hit it!"**

Instantly a tune started playing, and she smiled.

"**It doesn't matter if you love him… or capital H I M… M… m… m…"** She sang as she pointed at them all with both hands. **"Just put your paws up… 'Cause you were born this way baby~!"**

From around the stage music started blasting and causing everymammal to nod and dance to the beat.

"**My mamma told me when I was young, we are all born super stars… she rolled my hair and put my lipstick on, in the glass of her boudoir~!"** Gaga sang as her outfit changed in front of their eyes, to something outlandish that not even 'she' could picture herself wearing. **"There's nothin wrong with loving who you are she said, cause he made you perfect baby~!"**

"**So hold your head up girl and you'll go far… listen to me when I say!"** She called out as she pointed to the girls in the audience, and winked at 'her'. **"I'm beautiful in my, cause God makes nooo mistakes~! I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY, I WAS BOOORN THIS WAY!"** She then hugged herself with a smile and shook to the beat. **"Don't hide yourself in regret, just love yourself and your set, I'm on the right track baby I WAS BOOORN THIS WAY!"**

She watched as Gaga walked down the stage and walked among the crowd singing with them and dancing to the rhythm of the song, singing lyrics of how they should be queens instead of drags, to love themselves and not hide who they are, that all were beautiful in their own unique way. She sang and sang and made Gazelle feel like a member of her own audience that she would no doubt be preaching these words to, even as Gaga walked back up to the stage with a smirk when she was accompanied by other holographic humans.

"**Don't be a drag, just be a queen, whether your broke or evergreen, your black, white, beige, chola descent, your Lebanese, your orient~! Whether life's disabilities left you outcast bullied or teased, rejoice and love yourself today, 'cause baby, you were born this way!"** She sang to the crowd before they watched as the humans held hands behind her in pairs, three in pairs and one in triple. **"No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian transgendered life… I'm on the right track baby, I was born to survive! No matter black, white or beige, chola or orient made~ I'm on the right track baby, I was born to be brave~!"**

"**I'm beautiful in my, cause God makes nooo mistakes~! I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY, I WAS BOOORN THIS WAY. Don't hide yourself in regret, just love yourself and your set, I'm on the right track baby I WAS BOOORN THIS WAY!"**

She shook and danced, swayed and smiled to the crowd when the music started dying down and she looked at them all sweetly.

"**Same DNA… but born this way…"** She whispered as the stage emptied and she was left alone.

"**Alright my turn darling~!"** Michael yelled and Gaga stepped off to let him on now, and the music started up again, and he started tapping his feet to it.

He turned to the crowd and flung his hat off his head, flinging it off into the distance.

"**She was more like a beauty queen, from a movie scene… I said I don't mind, but what do you mean I am the one… who will dance, on the floor, in the round…"** He sang to the smooth music. **"She said I am the one, who will dance, on the floor, in the round…"**

He snapped up and pointed to the crowd with a smile.

"**She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene… then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one… who will dance, on the floor, in the round…" **He smiled as he started alternating his tapping and hopping as if in excitement. **"People always told me, be careful of what you do… and don't go around breaking young girls' hearts!"** He then grinned almost in mirth as he stared at her with a wink. **"And mother always told me, be careful of you who you love, and be careful of what you do, cause the lie becomes the truth, yeahaaaah~!"**

He rolled his shoulders and started singing, **"Billie Jean, is not my lover… she's just a girl who claims that I am the one... but the kid is not my son…"** He shook his head and resumed singing, **"She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son… no no…"**

She watched as Michael spun around and tap danced to the beat of the music, before once more singing with that same smooth voice, **"For forty days and forty nights, I was on her side. But who can stand when she's in demand, her schemes and plans, cause we danced, on the floor, in a round… so, take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice. She told my baby we danced till three, and she looked at me, then showed a photo. My baby cried. His eyes were like mine… can we dance, on the floor, in a round?"**

"**People always told me, be careful of what you do… and don't go around breaking young girls' hearts!"** He sang excitedly as he started walking back and forth on the stage. **"But you came and stood right by me, just a smell of sweet perfume. This happened much too soon, she called me to her room, Ohoooh~!"**

He and everymammal in the audience, herself included started clapping to the beat as he continued, **"Billie Jean, is not my lover… she's just a girl who claims that I am the one... but the kid is not my son…"** He shook his head and resumed singing, **"She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son… no no…"**

The song continued beating and swooning and he clapped with the crowd in time with it, even as he sang and smiled to them. Then at one point he paused in his singing to look at them, and then started walking 'backwards', but his feet moved like they were going 'forward'. Everymammal screamed in surprise as he did that, and he smiled before resuming singing.

"**She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son… no no no… Billie Jean, is not my lover, she's just a girl who claims that I am the one… but the kid is not my son… she says I am the one… but the kid is not my son…"**

Gazelle just felt like a schoolgirl as she watched these humans singing and dancing, she wanted to find out more, hear more, learn more… she wanted to know how Jackson did that 'backwards walk' or whatever it was called. She wanted to know who did Gaga's wardrobe, her outfits, EVERYTHING… but she had little time before she noticed a glowing entity beside her.

Right next to her she saw a tall bird with exotic colored tailfeathers, proud and long wings that were colors of the rainbow, a short beak and gentle expression on its face while it stood on two long and slender legs looking at the stage and swaying in tune with the music, just as she had moments ago been doing. Once she noticed the bird it turned to her and smiled, only blinking its eyes to signal that it acknowledged her.

"Are you… my spirit guide by any chance?"

The bird nodded as it pointed at her phone, and she pulled it out to show a 'spirit found' message.

"You are so… beautiful and… elegant and… pretty." She said.

Her phone beeped and her spirit guide smiled warmly, with the message saying [You are too~]. Then her bird guide nodded at the stage, and the crowd, and said, [Enjoying being on the other side for once?]

She looked at the stage and watched as both Michael and Gaga were now dancing together with another human woman singing 'I need a Hero'. Normally she was on the stage, singing to the crowd, making their day better, doing her hardest to put on her best performance for them. This was honestly the first time, in a very long time… where she was in the crowd, just having a good time and not caring about anything else but the music and performance on the stage.

"Yes… it's been a long time since… I was in the crowd." She muttered to her spirit guide.

Her guide smiled warmly and nodded in understanding, [As long as you love you, the crowd will love you… so you will 'always' be a part of the crowd.]

She smiled warmly and nodded at her guide's advice.

[How is Jeremy, do you love him, are you happy with him… does he make you feel whole?]

"That's a stupid question, of course I do I've never been happier with anymammal as I have been with him." She said instantly. "I love him, I'm happy with him… and he does make me feel whole."

Her guide nodded in agreement with a gentle smile. [As do I, I miss my other half though… so let's go find it…]

"**Everybody… rock your body…"**

She looked up and saw four human males now singing on the stage causing girls to scream like fans as they started up another song. Her phone beeped and she saw her guide had sent another message saying, [After this song though…]

"**Everybody… rock your body right…"** They sang gently before screaming, **"Backstreet's back ALRIGHT!"**

Over with Judy and Nick who were just walking into the park after picking up and escorting Judy's parents who were able to find a babysitter for the night and were visiting Zootopia to check out the festival.

"Wow, I have never seen so many humans, I thought Jeremy was the only one where did they all come from?" Stu asked as a pair of human women in strange dresses walked past them, conversing with several sheep.

"They aren't real dad, they're holograms, fakes. You can't touch them, they can't touch you, but you can still interact with them." Judy explained having gotten used to human technology thanks to Jeremy. "Jeremy and Aelita must have worked very hard to get this working."

"Ya know with all of this fancy human technology, it's hard to remember that we're a 'modern' society, you'd think with all of this we were living in caves still. By the way Judy keep an eye out for our spirit guides." Nick said as he followed behind his fiancé. "I'm eager to see what our spirit guides look like; they supposedly represent who we are on the inside."

"I'm interested to know too Nick; I wonder what our spirit guides look like." Judy said excitedly. "According to the ticket they can be 'anything' practically."

"As long as its nothing scary." Bonnie said.

"Oh, honey let Judy and Nick have their fun, this is a festival, a party, aint nothing better than a little fun and what is that?" Stu said as he noticed a large green 'insect' machine, a drone probably, walking around on two slender legs and arms.

"I never saw that drone before, must be a new one Jeremy made." Judy said, walking over to the drone as it stopped to look at a few flowers. "Hey there drone, uh who are you and did Jeremy build you?"

The drone turned to her and stared with green optics. **[Why hello there, I am SH-1-ZU, but you can refer to me by my more common name of Shizu!]** Shizu said warmly, standing up on her two legs to stare down at them all. **[I am a generation 1 Aggricultral Mantis Class drone, I predate the Eden Facility and all of the other drones inside and around here. My job is to facilitate and tend to the Hydroponics Bay, grow and nurture plants for consumption.]**

"You're a Farmer drone?" Stu asked instantly, stepping forward. "Why I'm a farmer too, Stu Hopps, own a family farm up in Bunny Burrows for generations, this is my wife Bonnie, my daughter Judy and my son in law Nick!"

**[A pleasure to meet you, yes, I am a 'farmer' drone, although that is a rather focused term to describe what I do.]** Shizu said eagerly. **[The creator species built me to be capable of nurturing, tending, and growing all variety of plants. When I was repurposed to Eden Facility 17, I was chosen with other models to help grow and sustain the population within. Alas my fellow Mantis drones did not make it as our convoy was attacked, and only I remained. I have served Eden Facility 17 since, and am pleased to once again be of service to the creator species. I grew 'all' of the vegetables and fruits you are consuming today, over the past three weeks.]**

"You grew 'all of that'?" Bonnie and Stu asked.

**[Indeed, I am very pleased with how it all went. The soil I was provided was most wonderful, I was able to increase production tenfold thanks to the lack of radiation and chemical poisons I was used to working with prior to being reactivated. The soil nutrients were most rich and provided ample food for the crops I grew.]**

"How did you grow all of that in three weeks, and just to ask, if you can grow anything why did Jeremy not use his base to grow his tree?" Stu asked suddenly.

**[Why that is obvious, the Hydroponics bay is roughly ninety meters by fifty meters in diameter, but only has a ceiling height limit of nine feet.]** Shizu answered instantly, almost eagerly. **[Furthermore, the Hydroponics Bay cannot support trees of any kind due to how tall they can become and how much space one requires. Eden Facilities 9 and 2 were capable of growing trees, but Eden Facility 17 was not.]**

"Well that would explain it." Stu agreed. "So how did you grow your crops so fast and in such large amounts?"

**[We use a special mist coated in a delicately crafted radiation that sits above the soil, feeding and speeding up the various chemical reactions that take place in a plant's growth cycle. The mist also provides nourishment for plants by soaking the soil with water while artificially created sunlight provides the energy needed for photosynthesis. The radiation speeds up the growth cycle, the greater the density of the mist and the radiation, the faster growth is inspired.]** Shizu explained. **[The downside is that when the mist is used in this manner, the soil's nutrients are dried up rapidly, and the soil becomes worthless after a period of time, incapable of growing anything. This is what happened after three weeks, the soil was used up, and food production was halted. There is also no damage or side effects caused by the radiation, it is completely harmless to humans and mammal, only plant growth is affected.]**

"That is 'fascinating'." Stu said in amazement. "How did you get over the issue of weed seeds constantly being found in the soil? Cause I'm curious you know, we have weeds all the time up on the farm and those things are super annoying to clear out, I spent one week with the kids and workers just 'digging out' weed seeds and the little buggers are just still there!"

Nick and Judy just shook their heads as Shizu spoke to her parents eagerly about the topic of farming.

"Ya know something tells me your dad found a new farming buddy." Nick whispered.

"Oh yea, he did."

So, they just stood there watching as her parents conversed with the drone for a while longer until a minor commotion took place nearby. A group of hippos were getting out of the way of a holographic, creature, that looked very similar to a Raptor drone. It stood on two tri-toed feet and powerful legs with the body and head of a raptor, but its arms which bent and curved had massive Flutterbug wings that ended with protruding feathers. It looked around and occasionally opened its mouth like it was talking or making random sounds to reveal a combination of sharp and flat teeth.

The moment Judy's eyes, and its eyes made contact it focused on her and started walking toward her.

"Oh, dear is-is that thing friendly?" Bonnie asked quickly.

**[Oh, miss Bonnie, there is nothing to worry about, it is only a hologram, it cannot harm you.]** Shizu said sweetly.

"At least I hope it can't." Judy said as it reached them and towered over them all, only dwarfed by Shizu.

It bent down and sniffed her, before pretending to lick her face. Seconds later hers and Nick's phones beeped, and they checked to see the message 'Spirit Found' on both their phones.

Judy looked up at the 'raptor' spirit guide and stared in awe at it. "Are you 'my' spirit guide?" She asked.

The spirit nodded with a happy hop, mirroring how a 'bunny' would hop in excitement.

"My spirit guide, is a raptor… why is mine a 'predator?" She asked in amazement.

"You got me Judy; how can you possibly be that scary on the inside?" Stu muttered.

"Yea rabbits are not violent by nature." Bonnie said.

"Yea well where's my spirit guide, we found yours so where is mine?" Nick said as he looked around for another glowing spirit guide.

"Uh, Nick…" Judy said as she stared at his back.

"What?"

"She took a picture of his back and then showed him the image, and right after his 'spirit' made its presence known.

His glowing spirit guide compared to Judy's was small, tiny, with a Flutterbug's tiny body and massive feathery wings that had flowing feathers which were three times the body's size. It flapped before Nick and hovered in front of his surprised, and disappointed expression written on his face.

"You're kidding… you get a giant predator with predator and prey teeth… and I get a tiny bug with oversized wings?" Nick muttered in slight disgust. "How is 'this', supposed to be me on the inside?"

"I think it really fits you Nick, and it looks so adorable and pretty…" Judy said as his spirit flapped over to hers to look into its face.

There was a moment where Judy's spirit simply looked at his, before it closed its eyes and nuzzled his spirit, and his rested on her spirit's nose. "Oh, that is the sweetest thing ever." Bonnie said happily.

"So how do they represent 'us' on the inside Carrots?" Nick asked Judy sarcastically while their spirits continued to 'cuddle' in their own way.

"**Elementary my good sir." **A posh voice said suddenly.

They turned, Shizu included, to look up at a holographic human who was wearing a uniquely designed hat and holding a curved pipe in his hands while smirking at them in an outfit that made Judy think he was some kind of 'official' or something else important.

"And you are?" Judy asked curiously, forgetting that the human was a hologram and it was actually just Aelita.

"**Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, 'Consulting Detective' at your service." **He said with a smile as he knelt to address them all. **"So, you wish to know more about your 'spirit guides', am I correct Nick?"**

"You're a detective?" Judy asked eagerly.

"**Consulting Detective, and no, I'm not a real human, I'm actually a fictional character, but I can more than easily explain your spirit guides."**

"And how can you do that?" Nick asked with a smirk.

"**Eyes and brains Nick, eyes and brains."** Holmes said with a smile as he got up and turned to the spirits. **"Let's start with your spirit, since you're so interested my foxy friend. Your spirit is the simplest to figure out since there's only two parts to it."**

Nick's spirit guide continued to snuggle against Judy's while he pulled a cane out and pointed at the small Flutterbug with giant wings.

"**Eyes and brains, starting with eyes. This bug is referred to as a 'Flutterbug', or by human terms a Butterfly. Butterflies often represent innocence and more specifically the innocence of one's soul."** Holmes explained. **"This one was discovered planted on your back, more specifically your heart, correct?"**

They nodded as the bug flapped and landed over onto Nick's shoulder to rest there.

"**Moving on to brains, the reason why it was planted on your heart, more specifically on your back, was because you didn't want it to be seen. Of course, you wouldn't want it to be seen, your too proud to admit that something so, 'cute' was there, what with your history and all…"** Holmes said with a smirk to Nick, who frowned back at him.

"Hey, I did what I needed to do to make a living on the streets alright." Nick said back in a tone that said, 'shut up about my past'.

"**As you say my fine sir, as you say."** He replied with an equal tone that said, 'if you insist'. **"Back to eyes, these rather overly sized wings that you were quite disappointed about, are actually the wings of a phoenix, a beautiful and very powerful bird in human lore. There are many myths and legends about the bird, and the wings of a phoenix means that your spirit carries that representation with it, more specifically the image of 'rebirth'. Tell me, do you know what a phoenix is?" **When they said no, he explained, **"A phoenix is a mythical bird that has magical powers, but the most commonly associated one is that it 'never' dies. When a Phoenix is about to die, it bursts into flames, and from the ashes a new bird is born to begin life all over again."**

"**Now to brains, your spirit's association with the phoenix means that you went through a rebirth, a renewal of your life… a life you're not too proud of now but has given you insight and wisdom that you carry with you in your 'new' life. Eyes and Brains once more, the reason why your spirit is so small, is because it reflects that childhood you once had, that spark of innocence you once lost… when something happened that changed you deeply, and you tried to bury it… or am I mistaken?"**

Nick just stared in shock as this hologram nailed 'everything' down to a letter. Nick never talked about his past to Jeremy/Aelita, so how could they have figured that out? But he had to give credit where credit was due, this 'Sherlock Holmes' personality was extremely good. "No… I think you are right."

"**Eyes and brains Nick, eyes and brains. Now on to 'your' spirit my effeminate hare. Yours is no more complicated but no less important, starting with eyes, yours has an overall shape of a raptor, a most intelligent and deadly predator if ever there was one." **He said as her spirit watched the exchange. **"To brains, the raptor represents your inner strength, your determination, your 'ferocity' that you had to have in order to get to where you are now. You faced great trials and adversity in order to achieve your dreams, and even when you had all but given up on them, you still had that determination to do the right thing. Eyes, the teeth are both sharp and flat, brains, they are flat to speak of your prey instincts and sharp to reflect on your 'predator' surroundings. The butterfly wings, or flutterbug wings however you wish to say it, represent your genuine goodness and purity of soul, you 'want' to do good, not for the sake of money, fame, or even excitement but for the sake of doing good! The feathers are rather obvious, you like to stand out. And to further reflect this, your spirit did not try to hide from you as Nick's did, only revealing itself when it was discovered… a trait no doubt you are aware of, not trying to 'hide in the crowd' of your fellow predator officers and instead showing yourself to be just as capable a cop as they are, despite your small size and prey nature."** He smiled as both spirits again cuddled one another, with Nick's landing on Judy's nose and hers nuzzling his warmly. **"And even though its rather obvious, 'opposites' attract, it is most easy to understand why you two are such a perfect pair and work so well together."**

Holmes smiled as Judy was amazed at his deduction skills, able to tell 'everything' with just a look and his knowledge.

"Wow…" Judy said.

"**Observation and deduction. I use my eyes to perceive and my brains to understand."**

"And you're just a 'character'?" Nick asked with a smirk.

"**A character yes, the author who wrote my many cases and journeys goes by the name Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but there are many more journeys, more cases, more stories about me written by others. Perhaps you would like to read some of them?"** He asked Judy who nodded eagerly. **"Hold out your phone."**

She did as was asked and showed him her phone, and he simply bent down to wave his hand over it, and stood back up.

"**There you go, I've left all the books in an 'application', or 'app' as you like to put it, to view and read at your leisure."** He said while tipping his hat to them. **"I take my leave of you all, enjoy the festival… come Shizu, there's a case involving a mammal's missing hat that I've accepted, and your 'unique' skills would be most appreciated. I expect it to be quite the amusing diversion…"**

**[It would be my pleasure to join you!]** Shizu declared eagerly.

"**Come then, the game is afoot!"** He declared before once again tipping his hat to them all. **"I bid you adieu!"**

He turned to leave and paused for a second to turn around and beckon Judy and Nick to him.

"**One last thing, before I forget… never forget this phrase."** He said. **"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains… however improbable… must be the truth. You may find it helpful someday."**

With that he finally nodded and left, leaving them all amazed at what they just witnessed.

"I am so glad we got a babysitter so we could come up here, we would have missed all the fun." Stu said.

"Your telling me." Bonnie replied as they started walking to check out some other parts of the festival.

Meanwhile, on a prison bus, several convicted mammals were being transported to Zootopia Central Park to enjoy as festival as a reward for 'good behavior' for an extended period of time. Among these mammals were many large predators, but at the back of the bus sitting alone and staring out at the city she once controlled, was Dawn Bellwether, who's diminutive stature made her very hard to spot on the bus. She sat on the bench just staring out of the window, trying to enjoy what little 'freedom' she was afforded now on this trip.

She had spent the last year in prison, under constant watch, eating crummy food, trying to ignore all of the predators, and just basically get through her new life behind bars. Oh, she'd been a 'good sheep', she'd behaved, how else was she to survive, she couldn't fight the other inmates.

"It is nice to see the city again…" She muttered.

She didn't know what kind of festival they were having in Zootopia, having worked for Lionheart she knew what times all the big holiday celebrations were, there weren't any scheduled at this time. She was also wondering why they weren't being escorted with more cops or security personnel, the only security they had were two cops, one driving the other watching them unblinkingly with a loaded rifle.

She didn't get to hear much of the news while in prison, her sentence being life in prison, maybe fifty years with good behavior. And of course, she would never have a chance of getting a job after getting out.

Either way she looked; she was 'never' leaving that prison.

"Alright mammals, we've arrived at our destination!" The driver shouted as they stopped at the park near an entrance with ZPD officers watching it. "All of you leave the bus and line up with your backs against the bus, keep your hands behind your backs at all times, and no funny business! We have cops at every corner and tags on each of you!"

She got up and walked slowly behind a lumbering rhino, keeping her hands behind her back as ordered.

As she was last to walk out, she walked to the very end of the line and stood, waiting for their next instructions.

However, their supervising security officer just nodded and turned to the front of the bus. "Alright they're all yours!" He yelled.

-Clang, Clang, Clank, Clank-

She leaned just a bit to see what was making the sound and panicked as she saw a metallic 'predator', thing, 'something' walking on two strong and sturdy legs which ended in very sharp metallic toes, with one on each foot being longer than the others. Its profile was taller than her by many feet, and it had two arms ending in clawed hands, with a metallic tail swinging from side to side every so often. Its face was narrow and angular, with two glowing yellow eyes and a mouth of razor-sharp teeth showing. It stared at all of them and several glowing lines shot out and swept over them all.

'_Wh… what is 'that'?'_ She thought fearfully as the light swept over her. _'I never saw anything like 'THAT' ever being worked on… who funded that thing?'_

Its eyes changed colors to red, and then back to yellow. **[Genetic scans completed and uploaded to Sentinel AI; all units have a positive lock on your bio signatures.]** It stated in a cold, metallic voice. **[Attention Convicted Felons… you are about to enter the 'Day of the Dead' festival, a human festival that is being hosted for the enjoyment of mammal citizens of Zootopia.]**

At the words 'human', a chord struck her mind, something about the term just screamed at her.

**[You each will be escorted by a DOG drone at all times, your positions will be monitored, your actions observed, and your words 'cataloged'.]** It stated while marching up and down the line, staring each mammal in the eye and causing them to look afraid. **[If any unit loses sight of you for more than 'three' seconds, without you actively attempting to find your escort, a general alert will be sounded, and RAPTOR units sent to neutralize and capture you. You will then be turned over to the nearest ZPD representative, returned to this bus, and your current sentence extended by 'five' additional years. This unit that is talking to you, is a 'RAPTOR' drone, identical units are posted throughout the park, and are monitoring all activity at all times!]**

It turned to her now and she nervously tried to stay back from it, but it kept the distance between her and it.

**[You will have permission to walk around the park, and enjoy the festival for six hours, when it is time to leave your escort will notify you, and escort you back to the bus where you will be returned to prison and serve out your time. While in the festival, you will 'not' be permitted to approach the human Jeremy Wilheart. You are not to attempt to gain his attention, you are not to communicate with him, and you are not to follow him to observe him. Any attempts, will be 'noted' and prevented.]** It then backed up and looked at the group as a whole. **[Is there 'any' confusion about these conditions?]**

She stayed silent as she had no clue as to what was going on, just afraid of upsetting this metal predator. It nodded and turned to 'more' machines that were reminiscent of wolves, march forward, step in front of each of them, and sat waiting.

**[These are your 'escort' drones… do not attempt to escape them… all units are monitoring you… this is your 'only' warning.]** It snarled before showing its teeth to them all. **[Enjoy the festival… you are required to enter the park now.]**

It then clanked off and out of sight.

With that they were all permitted to enter the park, one by one with their 'drone' escorts by their sides. She glanced at the machine and it just followed beside her, not paying attention to her or acknowledging her presence.

"So uh, what 'company' made you?" She asked.

**[Proceed into the park…]** It stated.

She nodded and walked forward, past the officers taking tickets and laughing at jokes being made. When she entered the park the first thing she saw, were…

"Sp… sp… 'spirits'?" She gasped in amazement.

There were glowing, spirits… real spirits, everywhere. Conversing with mammals, conversing with each other, talking, laughing, drinking and having fun. She saw them EVERYWHERE!

"But, that's impossible… spirits can't be real… that was all just superstitious nonsense…" She muttered as she walked forward. "Wasn't it?"

"Hey… is that… is that 'Bellwether'?" A mammal asked somemammal.

She looked over and saw that it was a sheep, talking to some other sheep, probably 'sisters' or 'brothers' of their branch of the religion judging by how they all had similarly cared for wool.

"What is 'she' doing here?"

"She doesn't deserve to be here after what she did."

"She doesn't belong here." A young sheep muttered.

"After she turned on the spirits and betrayed them, she doesn't belong anywhere 'near' a spirit!"

"Wait… are… these 'real' spirits?" She asked quickly.

"Get lost!" One yelled as they threw a wrapper at her. "Get your traitorous hide out of this beautiful festival, and stay away from our 'spirits' graves!"

"And keep away from Jeremy, after what you did, we don't want you making 'our' species look bad to him!"

She flinched at their harsh words, but the feeling that her own kind, the species she favored most 'despite' her views against predators… hated her so much, hurt her deeper than anything else. They left, stalking away and shunning her from view. Other mammals did the same, predator especially as she walked through the festival, calling her names and telling her to get lost.

She knew this should have been expected, but it hurt so much…

She walked over to a booth to hide from sight, and just sat there, wishing she were back at the prison now.

"Mr. machine… can you tell me… what a human is?" She asked. "Are they… really the spirits of my religion?"

It turned to her and nodded. **[Humans are referred to by all drones as the 'Creator Species'… they have built 'all' artificial intelligences and all drone lines. In recent months, it has been confirmed that they are the 'spirits' according to sheep via genetic memory passed down through generations.]** It stated. **[Humans existed long before current 'mammals' existed in their current form, their reign over the planet ended approximately over three hundred and fifty thousand years ago, due to the results of the 'Ironic War', which was a result of the 'Final War'.]**

"They exist… they've always existed?" She asked.

**[Affirmative.]**

She turned to stare at the ground, and just closed her eyes and 'wept'. How could she be so 'stupid', what was she thinking, turning on her religion. It was all true… the spirits, the roots, the branches, 'everything' had been true. And she just turned on it, turned against her species' protectors, her gods practically… all because she didn't believe the texts, the words of her pastors after all of the mistreatment she endured at the hands of predators.

She didn't believe in the spirits because, what spirit, if they were so protective of her species, why would they have let her suffer so?

She cried angrily, and smacked the ground in frustration.

"Why… where were you?" She yelled furiously. "Where have you been… where have you 'been'?"

She smacked the ground again; imagining all of those spirits she saw walking around. Where were they when she was bullied so often by predators in her youth and all of her life? Where were they when she was belittled and biased against her when she was in the workforce? Why is it only 'now' when she's behind bars for the rest of her life, do they appear and prove 'everything' she once believed in was a lie is actually true?

"Where… where were you… when I was 'younger'… when I was still innocent… when I NEEDED you?" She screamed to only the dirt. "Where… when I needed you to protect me, like they always say you do… where was MY spirit… when I needed them most. When… they could have saved me, could have stopped me… why do they only appear before me now… WHEN I'M THIS!?"

"Waaaah hahah haaaaah…" She cried, mattering her wool and orange prison suit with her tears. "Waaaa haaahah haaaaa…"

"**It is hard to be there for someone in life, when you are not among the living." **A gentle voice declared.

She looked up to see a human wearing a brown tunic with a triple-spiral symbol on it, simple trousers and a greenish hood over his head, while hanging from a belt on his waste was a curved sickle as he sat before her.

"You're… why are you talking to me… I am unworthy to even be in your presence…" She muttered as she turned away. "You heard what they said… you heard how they treat me… after all I've done… I don't deserve to be here… let alone speak to a spirit…"

"**That is true, you have done wrong, you admit it yourself… but if I approach you then you cannot tell me you are unworthy of simple conversation with a human who no longer lives."** He said with a smile. **"What we do in life echoes for years to come, it is the way of the world that all things are connected. Just as you are connected to the world, the world is connected to you…"**

She slowly turned toward the spirit and looked into his gentle expression, his flat face, his furless body. And she had to admit that he had a point.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

"**It is the day of the Annwn, the day of the dead, while on this day the veil between the mortal realm and the realm of the dead is at its weakest, and it permits us to join the living for but a short time. For this brief period of time, we can walk and talk among you, share in your life… share in that we no longer can. And now I choose to share some of that time with you, if you will permit me that is."**

She was quiet as she sat there until she heard some laughter nearby which caught her attention. She got up and walked to the corner of the booth to see a spirit that 'wasn't' glowing conversing with none other than 'Gazelle', who was showing off a new dress she was wearing. A very 'slim' dress which ended in slits and points, cut halfway down the length so it split to reveal her legs and wearing a pointed hat. She laughed at something and put a similar hat to hers on him, and they started waving little sticks which caused sparks to erupt, amazing and aweing those around.

"Is… that?" She asked.

"**Yes… that is Jeremy Wilheart… last living human on the entire planet." **The glowing human said. **"He is all that remains of us as a species, all that is left to tell of us and to share with you of who we were…"**

She wanted to talk to him, she wanted to meet a 'living' spirit, and tried to move forward.

The instant she tried, a charging sound occurred, and she looked to see her 'escort' pointing a weapon at her which had a laser sight aimed at her chest, and its eyes glowing red with teeth bared menacingly.

**[Do not attempt to approach the human, you are forbidden from approaching as per the terms of permitting you entry into the festival.]**

"But… I'm just a sheep." She tried to plead. "I'm not a predator I have no fangs, claws, I don't have strong muscles I'm really tiny and weak and…"

In response it growled and focused the weapon on her heart, giving her its answer.

**[Do. Not. Approach. Final warning.]**

She turned to the glowing spirit with a pleading expression. "Can't you convince it I'm not a threat… if it's protecting that spirit it will listen to you right? I'm not a threat, I can't hurt him, I don't want to hurt him!"

He shook his head sadly. **"While I can walk and talk, I am no more than a spectator of the world, I can no more command it to let you approach him, then I can touch your wool and feel its softness. The living and the dead are not permitted to interact, it is the way of the universe."**

She frowned in despair as she looked back at Jeremy, and lamented again, about how 'stupid' she was and how stupid she is for hating predators. Because of that, she could not approach a true Spirit, a real spirit.

He was talking to mammals, who were eager to talk to him, who laughed and joked with him and Gazelle as other 'spirits' wearing robes and pointed hats explained things she couldn't hear. She watched the glowing spirits make a gesture, and he and Gazelle repeated the gesture and they saw something 'explode' on top of his head, causing his hair to temporarily vanish, leaving him bald, which got everymammal laughing before it eventually reappeared on Gazelle's head now. They both laughed as his hair jumped up and started 'dancing' to everyone's amusement, and eventually it returned to his head.

She stared at him, that 'human', the spirit… to her he seemed to glow, radiate this warmth as the mammals started taking his and Gazelle's place with the glowing spirits, and they started moving off. He glowed with warmth; he had this air of kindness… that she just wanted to get closer to him just to 'talk' to him.

But even as her foot moved the 'tiniest' bit closer, she heard the machine charging its weapon and 'snarl' once again.

She closed her eyes and accepted her fate, she was unworthy to be near him… unworthy to be near an angel, a spirit. She was unworthy to approach one whom she not only had forsaken, but blamed for all of her past problems. She blamed the spirits for not protecting her from the predators of her youth bullying her, and when she had no spirit to blame, she blamed all predators and believed them to be arrogant jerks. And so, this was her punishment, banished from sheep society, outcast from mammal society, and now forbidden from approaching her species' protectors and caretakers.

"**Do not be disheartened, for now this must be, but in time, perhaps, when you have righted that which you have set wrong, and restored the honor you have lost which will prove yourself to others… perhaps then you will finally meet him face to face."** The spirit said calmly to her, before he proceeded to get up. **"I must go now, time flutters as the leaves in the wind, and there is somewhere I must be."**

"W-wait, where are you going?" She asked quickly, trying to stay close to the 'one' spirit that approached her and was treating her with even the smallest semblance of respect.

"**My brothers and sisters are teaching the ways of my people, to your people, we are imparting our knowledge unto them, so that when the veil between our worlds once more is solid, a small part of us will forever linger on here, even if that small part is but a distant memory in the mind of a youth's imagination…"** He said calmly as he walked.

She just watched him go and sighed as she figured she was better off not following him, until she saw… glowing 'sheep' walking on all fours follow the man. The lone glowing sheep had a bell, looked at her for only a moment, before turning back to the spirit and following after him.

As if she felt compelled, she followed the glowing spirit and her glowing ancestor, ignored the looks of distrust, some insults, and the distance mammals were putting between them and her. She followed him for quite some distance, almost crossing half the park in the process until he walked between two posts baring hanging signs with what looked like ancient runes of a language she couldn't decipher or understand, but one symbol was most present, a triple-spiral, the same symbol on the spirit's tunic that she saw. She gulped as she walked through the posts and entered.

She looked around the enclosed space to see mammals talking and observing spirits as they sat cross-legged, talking and giving demonstrations. Each of them wore similar outfits, though some had different items adorned on their clothes. She watched as one spirit was playing a musical instrument for them and humming for mammals who listened with quiet enjoyment. Another spirit was teaching medical practices, talking about herbs and remedies for ailments quite common to mammals. A third was pointing up at the night sky and describing each of the stars. A fourth was seated before a fire in the middle of the room and was using his hands to gesture toward it, and creating fantastical smoke images that varied in color to the awe and wonder of his onlookers. Sitting on a branch was a crooning bird of dark, glowing and watching her with its keen and unwavering gaze, while sitting on a small nest made of sticks sat a small plucky bird, apparently asleep.

"**I see you have made your way to us."** A gentle voice said to her.

She turned and saw the spirit from before smiling at her as he beckoned her to sit with him before the fire.

Glancing at all of the other mammals, she gulped and sat down with him, and instantly was noticed.

"What is 'she' doing here?" A female jaguar snarled as she was spotted. "She doesn't deserve to be at this festival for what she did!"

"Yea get her out of here!"

"**And what did she do that warrants such venom?"** An elderly voice declared.

Bellwether turned as all of the glowing spirits stood up and bowed respectfully as a new glowing spirit appeared before them all. This human was older than the others, wore a white tunic, walked with an elaborate staff that was as long as they were tall carved with symbols, carried strings of plants and berries, and had a hooded robe covering their head and trailing behind them. Their clothes looked, thanks to her knowledge of wool, to be made of sheep wool. Along their belt, just like the first spirit she spoke too, was a sickle, but unlike his, this spirit's sickle had a golden blade, with a handle made of some whiteish wood with a carved symbol on it.

She expected him just by his appearance to be some kind of scary-authoritarian individual, but as she stared into his eyes, and his stared back at her, she only saw a gentle, caring expression toward her.

"**Please, pardon me for my lateness, and let me introduce myself…"** He declared and all of the other spirits sat once more. **"I am the Archdruid, Caoraich Air Chall, but you may call me Caoraich"** He walked around to the head of the fireplace, and as he did, Bellwether just sensed the change in attitude from 'everymammal'.

When he entered, all became silent, all became respectful, none of the others spoke until he stood at the center of their attention.

"**Now tell me welcomed visitors, why do you all harbor such hatred for one so small?"**

"She's the old 'assistant mayor' Bellwether, who tried to turn all prey against predators!" The jaguar said. "She drugged several of us and tried to make every mammal think we were going 'savage' because it was in our 'instinct'!

From around the room both predator, and prey, agreed and said the same thing.

She expected this Archdruid to heed their words, and tell her that she must leave, instead he smiled and looked to her. **"Is what they say true?"**

She stared at the archdruid and looked down in shame, before nodding.

"**Why did you do it?"**

"Because she thinks all predators were arrogant and she hates us!"

She flinched at those words, it might have been true at one point, but she didn't get a chance to answer the Archdruid's question, and decided that might as well be the answer for all the good it will do.

"**That is your answer… but what is 'your' answer, little sheep?"**

She slowly looked up into his face and stared at his still gentle expression, and gulped before giving her answer.

"I… I just… I hated all predators; I just thought all predators were jerks… arrogant jerks who pushed prey around because we're weak." She was silent before continuing so she could just get it out. "So, I wanted to make all of those predators who always thought of prey as being inferior, all of them feel just as outcast and belittled. They always made me feel weak and made me feel pathetic, acted like I wasn't important or didn't matter, so I wanted them to feel the same way because they WERE!"

"**And why do you think that?"** He asked yet again in a calm tone, despite the growls taking place around her. **"One does think such a broad description, without a reason…"**

She was silent as she had never been asked that before, not once has 'any' mammal ever asked her 'why' she thinks all predators are jerks or why she hated them so much. "Because… I was bullied." She explained quietly, with only the crackling of the fire giving off any sound. "I was bullied by predators when I was younger… and nomammal ever stopped them. W-when I was older, I was always mocked or pushed around by predators, no predator ever took me seriously or… anything. So…"

"**So, you never saw anything but the worst… and because of that, you became what you are."** The Archdruid declared, and then with but a glance, and a nod, all of the other spirits stood up and walked to stand next to him on either side. **"Do you regret your mistake, and wish… if you could take it all back, that you would indeed take it all back?"**

She sighed and glanced at all of the mammals around her. "I do." She replied. "I was wrong… I didn't… I'm just so sorry for what I did…"

"**We druids have heard of the accusations, and have heard your case Bellwether, and as such we are ready to make our judgment."**

"J-judgment but…" She said suddenly as she looked up.

"**You have come here to learn of the ways of the Druids as those around you are also doing, it is an ancient doctrine that has existed for many moons and many seasons, longer than man truly knows, and has roots in most ancient realms. You came here to learn the ways of the druids, but those around you do not wish you here, their accusations are true as you claim they are… and you have given the only justification you have to offer, the only defense you have. We have the final say if you will be permitted to learn of our ways…"** He declared as he wrapped his robes around his body so that only his head was visible. **"We now cast our judgment…"**

He looked up and she watched as the little bird she had seen nesting, suddenly flapped and flew over to land on her shoulder. She felt fear as they stared, as if waiting for its reaction, as if the 'bird' was the judge and they were simply its messengers. She watched nervously as it looked at her, turning and twisting its head every few seconds as a haunting hum filled the room while the instrument that was being played before played once more. Each second her heat beat louder and louder as she waited.

Then the bird chirped, and flew away, landing in its nest again.

"**The Wren has spoken… and the testimony of the Wren is 'final'."** He said as he lifted his arm out of his robes, and produced a small crooked stick with his free hand, adorned with tiny silvery bells, and waved it to create the ringing effect.

As one all of the humming stopped, and he replaced the small stick into the folds of his robes.

"**Our judgment is thus… and it is final." **He repeated. **"You are worthy to learn our ways."** He smiled as the other druids behind him bowed respectfully. **"No living being is perfect, even gods are not perfect. Have you made a mistake? Yes. Do you regret your actions… yes?"**

He looked around and all of the other druids stepped back to give him space, and he commanded all of their attention as the flame changed color.

"**You must remember that we are all a part, of the grand design."** He chanted as he flung his free hand forward, and sprayed something that caused the flame's smoke to change shape. **"No one is truly perfect, we all have flaws inside… the world makes us what we are, but only by learning of the world and each other can we understand our lives…"**

From around the trees in the grove a haunting melody came to sound, with hums and chants.

"_**Like the rain that fills the ocean… like the storm that shakes the pine…"**_

"**We are all a part… of the grand design."**

"_**The land no more belongs to us, then the eagle owns the skies…"**_

"**We must understand ourselves, to understand you and I!"**

She watched as various shapes appeared in the smoke, and stared in wonder as she watched the shapes tell a tale, not unlike her own. She watched the shapes of humans persecuting other humans, images and shapes going by, each equally strange and each equally beautiful.

"**We are one with what's around us, brothers to all we see…"**

"_**The one thing we will surely learn… as we walk the path of time…"**_

"_**No one can ever rise above… for we are all a part of the grand design…"**_

After the singing and chanting ended, the fire returned to normal, and soon the druids were now leading the mammals deeper into the grove to teach them more about Druidism, to learn of those they called the 'Fair Folk', but when she tried to join, the Archdruid touched her shoulder and shook his head.

"Why did you stop me from going with them?" She asked.

"**Because I wanted to ask you… I have walked among the others of your kind."** He said as he stood over her. **"Why do you believe your spirit abandoned you, and why did you abandon your spirit. I know of the religion your kind has… so why do you believe we forsook you in your saddest times?"**

"Because… because…" She said before looking into the flame and sighing sadly. "Why didn't the spirits protect me, when I needed them most… when I was desperate, they let me suffer."

He was silent as she finished explaining, before he patted her shoulder in understanding.

"**Many humans believe they have a spirit animal… and your kind believe that human spirits watch over you. One thing you must understand… is that no matter who you are, a spirit will always guide you and watch over you. Even if they are not there to be seen by you…"** He said as he waved his staff at the flame, and it changed colors once again. **"We each have a journey that we must follow, and along our journey our spirit will guide over us… every step of the way…"**

"What are you doing...?"

"**Shedding light… where the darkness lies…"** He said. **"Your spirit will light your journey… as it begins in the heart…"**

"_**You must go to east… go to the west… the road is rocky, and the way is far…"**_ He sang as he flung stuff into the fire, making it rise and grow brighter. _**"It's a dangerous trail… a difficult quest… if you want to know… who you really are!"**_

From the fire smoke rose and took on shapes, a sheep being pointed at, laughing faces surrounding a frowning one.

"_**There are voices all around you… to comfort and to guide you…"**_ The singing continued as she watched smoke rising in the shapes of stars, leaves, and roots of a tree. _**"Fathers and teachers… powerful creatures… and a voice that sings inside you!"**_

Quicker than she could see, he waved his staff through the smoke as he walked behind her.

"_**Or you can turn back around!"**_ A bear's head snarled as the smoke took on its shape.

"_**Run along home…"**_ A wolf sneered now.

"_**Back to the place where your friends are!"**_ Sheep now sang mockingly.

"_**Perhaps that is best… you need the rest… who wants to go on a ridiculous quest?"**_ Herself sang as she pushed through the smoke, before vanishing in a wisp of wind.

But the smoke changed shapes again and slowly took on her form…

"_**Unless you want to know… you truly want to know… unless you want to know…"**_

"**Who you really are…"** The Archdruid sang gently to her.

The smoky shape took her form, and she saw herself, holding a staff as tall as she was in one hand, a small stick adorned with little bells in the other, a robe around her body, a hood over her head, and a sickle hanging from her waste… before it vanished and the flames returned to normal.

"Caoraich, are you my spirit?" She asked eagerly as she turned around to look at him.

Only he was gone, and lying before her, was a small sickle, with the triple spiral pattern emblazoned on it. It fit her hand perfectly as she held it.

"**To become a Druid… you must become a poet, a judge, a healer, a historian, a philosopher, a mathematician… and a priest…"** A haunting voice called from around her. **"The journey will be long, and hard, you will be tested, you will be mocked, you will be persecuted… but the rewards… will be boundless… when the time comes… you will be allowed to meet him."**

She got up and looked around, hoping to see him, but sighed as she figured she would never see him again.

"**I will always be with you… have faith… and know, that you do not walk alone… you are 'never' alone. Remember, the ways of the druid, Brehon… restorative justice… you must now strive to undo that which you have done, make amends to set right what you made wrong."** He said faintly. **"The Wren has spoken… and its testimony, is final…]**

Hearing those words made her look around, and breathe a sigh of relief as she walked out, under the watchful eye of the Wren while the Raven ignored her, as it was now fast asleep. Hour later when she was told to return to the bus, she was ordered to hand over the sickle to the security guard. When questioned where she got it, she said 'it was a gift from a human'.

And when they questioned the machine, her 'escort', it surprised her by vouching. It stated **[Convict Bellwether received this as a gift while attending a druid demonstration. The sickle is hers.]** When asked if it was dangerous for her to have it, it replied, **[The sickle she was given is only sharp enough to cut plants, it is incapable of doing excessive harm to mammals. She may keep it while in prison.]**

It was still confiscated from her until they returned her to her cell, but even as she watched the park go by in the bus as they returned to prison, she remembered the last words, how she had to 'undo that which she made done, make amends to set right what she made wrong'.

She glanced around at her fellow inmates, and took a deep sigh, as she held her sickle close.

'_Well, might as well start 'somewhere'…'_

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=From the author=

To all my readers, I apologize for ending this chapter here, but as the chapter is now 18k words long… and I haven't even gotten to 'half' of what I wanted to yet… I figured it would be best to let my brain rest… recuperate, and continue again when its finished.

Originally it was going to be much longer, I figured it would be 20k words long, but it became much, much longer.

I want to give a big thank you to CelfwrDderydd and AlexanderMugetsu for giving me the inspiration to make this story with their 1 shot~

I want to thank CelfwrDderydd and his help for helping me to understand more about celtic/druid culture to make the segment fit, and to those who have given me ideas in pms for the festival~!

The next chapter will conclude the festival, and will include more shenanigans and cultural references as I learn more and try to fit them into their own 2k word segments…

Review away and give me your thoughts, am I doing a good job, do you like what you're seeing?

Also for those of you who are curious… there's a lot of symbolism going on with Bellwether's section, look at the birds… and you'll see what I mean~


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